Ripley's Aquarium

Day two of vacation had a forecast of rain, so we drive into Gatlinburg to do the Aquarium and walk around the shops. The aquarium was pretty awesome and dare I say I actually liked it better than the Shedd. There were just a few extra fun features that made it a bit more entertaining.

Notice Charlotte is wearing her pink tutu dress in honor of her 2nd Birthday that day. We'll touch on that a bit later.

 There were, of course, lots of fishies to admire.

One of the coolest features was the moving sidewalk that took you through an archway full of aquatic life. I've been on these before (possibly even here) and I think they are a great way to let everyone see the entire aquarium without having to bump elbows and also to allow a smooth flow so no one is lingering.

We briefly stopped by the World War II exhibit that was housed in the same building.

The penguin habit was really fantastic. Part of it was on the outside of the aquarium and really allowed you to see the penguins slide and play.

The boys liked this Gatlinburg bear in town.

Having a leisurely lunch while it poured outside

Someone got a little stir crazy while we were waiting it out

Charlotte fell asleep while we were wandering through the shops right as we passed by a very appropriate sign

The boys having a little fun running up and around the cobbled sidewalk

Later that afternoon, we stopped back at our condo so we could make dinner and do a little birthday celebration for Charlotte. She was very eager to open the present we brought along.

Which turned out to be a new toy birthday cake to replace our much loved and falling apart one

 Happy 2nd Birthday Charley Bear!

After the festivities, we headed out to the Pigeon Forge Island to walk around and see the fountain lights