We left early yesterday morning to go on a day trip to Charleston, SC. It has been ten years since we visited there.
Our main focus was the aquarium since my daughter wanted to go. She has a sudden. Interest in marine biology and we’re trying to get her to narrow down what she wants to do in life.
I had wanted to head to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, NC but since she was so dead set on this, I caved. The zoo was going to be $100 cheaper. It’s a dad thing. ๐
We finally made it to Charleston about 11:30 AM and made our way to the SC Aquarium.
The aquarium opened in May of 2000 So this year they celebrated their 22nd anniversary. Itโs a great place. They have live touch tanks where you can actually touch some fish: Manta Rays, tiger sharks, starfish, and the like. Pretty neat.
The big boast of the SC Aquarium is the main tank which is called The Great Ocean tank.
The largest exhibit in the zoo is the Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium and is the deepest tank in North America (42 feet); it holds more than 385,000 US gallons (1,460,000 l) of water and contains more than 700 animalsโฆ
We were standing on the first floor and my daughter was really excited and was oohing and ahhing like a little kid. Sheโs 17.
A volunteer, named Angela, came over to my daughter and said, โhey you wanna see something cool?โ.
Let me stop here for a moment, for a little PSA.
You know all those things you tell your kids about not taking candy from strangers? Donโt get into the van? Donโt help look for the lost puppy?
All that went straight out the window.
The next thing I know, weโre following some strange lady through a door and into an elevator. Where were we going? Who knows? I was just along for the ride apparently.
You can raise your kids. You can give them all the knowledge possible. All of a sudden, forgotten!
Some weird things have happened to us over the years just by chance.
This is how we ended up in an abandoned amusement park on top of a mountain. Thatโs an older story. Today was pretty neat.
The tank that I was talking about earlier, The Great Ocean Tank, is where she was taking us.
We got a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of the aquarium. One of the cooler random things that has happened to us.
The wife loves turtles and got to meet Caretta. A lot closer than most visitors do, I suppose.
Caretta will turn 28 years old next month, and weighs over 220 pounds. She came to the Aquarium in 2001 at the age of 14. As a hatchling, a couple had taken her out of her natural habitat on a beach in Florida to keep her as a pet. Not realizing how large loggerheads become, they soon discovered that she was outgrowing the small enclosure they had kept her in. Once too big to care for and deemed non-releasable due to her upbringing in captivity, she was brought to the Aquarium du Quebec in Canada. The South Carolina Aquarium was in search of a sea turtle and she was transferred to our facility to live in the Great Ocean Tank in 2001. -From the aquarium website.
The moral of this story, I guess, is that sometimes, very rarely, stranger danger isnโt a thing.
And to think I wanted to go to the zoo yesterday because it would be way cheaper!
We did the tourist thing around town afterwards, walked the downtown area, took in some sights and had lunch.
It was hot and sticky. I feel like weโd be better served going in the cooler months. I’m sure not as much is open then, but there would at least be fewer people.
A big thing for both of the kids is the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge.
When the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge opened on July 16, 2005, it became the longest cable-stayed bridge of its time in North America and the tallest structure in South Carolina.
It’s 186โ above the Cooper River giving it plenty of room to let the large ship pass under.
Mags, my wife, hates it.
So, of course, we cross it twice.
On the way home we’ve always dropped by Magnolia Cemetery, the oldest public cemetery in Charleston. This is one of those older places where the to a and gravestones are pure artwork. A great place to visit.
Then comes the long drive home, and for some strange reason, whenever there’s a day trip, we end up stopping at a Walmart on the way home for something or other.
But that’s okay. What’s a Saturday in the South without stopping by Walmart?
I’m old. I’m tired. It’s been a weird day off.
It has been a while since I’ve posted here. Maybe I can get back to at least once a week.
That’s it. That’s…
We don’t do that here, sir.
Get off the highway!
Seegars
Searching The South 