Gatlinburg Vacation part 6: Aquarium of the Smokies

This post is the sixth in a series about our vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Look for more posts of trip from me, here is Part 5 and Part 7.

There are tons and tons of tourist traps in Gatlinburg.  Lots of ways to spend a boatload of money.  Seeing what all there is to do, I came across the brochure for Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.  The closest aquarium to us is in Chicago and we didn't stop on our trip there a couple of years ago.  This was a top contender for our only tourist trap stop.  Then, I had numerous people tell me it's a great place to go.

The decision was made, the kids were excited, we headed to the aquarium.

It did not disappoint, I think I had a smile on my face the whole time.  Husband did, too.  The kids talked about it for days.  Oldest kid loved the sharks.  Youngest kid loved the penguins.

We got to pet a jellyfish, watched the sting ray show, climbed into the penguin area.  We marveled as the creatures swam over, under, and around us.