Here is a our trip last August to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina. I called it the Charleston Aquarium, which many people do here, but it is not it's proper name. Above, little squirt and I , and dad, are about to go in. My son is hoping to see some sharks and alligators. Me , not so much, but since it was about 95 degrees outside that day, the coolness of the Aquarium was very attractive.
As soon as we go in, YUCK and Yikes ! This nice man is walking about with a Python or Boa Constrictor ( I am not good at identifying reptiles), on his neck. I did not like my son touching it, but the man assured me it was ok ( hmm?), and my son was fascinated.
Thank goodness Mrs. Wash-Your-hands-everywhere saw there were sanitizers all over the place, as reptiles are carriers of all kinds of yuchiness, salmonella, and other bad diseases .
See what a struggle it was for me to be here, ridiculous I know, I'm such a trooper.
American Bald Eagle, being rather regal. They have lots of open cages, open for us to be able to see , all around this place. Turtles, fish, crocodiles, owls, snakes galore , alligators, and more.
This guy was HUGE, talons were about 10 ins. long.
They have these giant tanks around the aquarium, and do shows or talks during the day. I can't recall if they were every hour, I think they were every two hours. At the bottom of this I am going to give you their chart with more info. They like to include children's questions/quizes, and it is very crowded during these times.
My husband watching the diver in the tank, who has a microphone and talks to the audience.
Son getting a closer look. Such a variety of fish , beautiful colors swimming about.
Then we go look at an alligator show, and the guy comes out and lets you touch the baby alligator. My son is quite pleased with this. I just think ( and look around), Where is the nearest hand sanitizer !!?
A twirling sea otter. I'll just show you some pictures of what we saw...
Big tanks, ceiling to floor in every room.
Here is the same man who walks around with snakes around his neck, working at the horseshoe crab and stingray area. He is a volunteer here, and says he loves coming in to work here and teach all the people about all the sea creatures.
Alright this is just nuts, insanity. More nice employees, walking around with snakes ( aka germy snakes), for innocent bystanders to stroke. Look at my husband, you would think he is stroking a baby's face.
YUCK !
You see what a act of bravery it was for me to go here. I think I'm starting to feel sick.
In-frigging-sanity !
I had to take a break from all the reptiles, smells and sights, and we went outside to their lovely observation patio. You can see all the way to the new suspension bridge over there.
They went to go look at the ship with a big viewer. Really a great place to see the water around Charleston, the ships, the bridge.
And me thrilled to be looking at no snakes ! Took out my yucky picture and have replaced it with my buddy and a giant bronze frog out there on the large viewing deck. Even though I looked like the frog in the picture I took out .
By the way, tip for coming to Charleston:
You need to drink lots of water in Charleston, all during the day, as the humidity is draining. Don't forget!
Let me show you what else is out here on their back room/areas of the aquarium.
By the way, tip for coming to Charleston:
You need to drink lots of water in Charleston, all during the day, as the humidity is draining. Don't forget!
Let me show you what else is out here on their back room/areas of the aquarium.
Now these are some good pictures ! An egret and or seagull out in their back area.
I would definitely go back to the aquarium, the gift shop is very nice, employees there are nice, and it was a cool respite from the heat of Charleston. It is not cheap to go here, 20. per person, aquarium alone and kids are 12.50 ( for just the basic tour). But our Zoo membership got us a big discount here, and possibly you have some reciprocal zoo or museum that may work here. They also have some online discounts on their site,so check it out.
I would definitely go back to the aquarium, the gift shop is very nice, employees there are nice, and it was a cool respite from the heat of Charleston. It is not cheap to go here, 20. per person, aquarium alone and kids are 12.50 ( for just the basic tour). But our Zoo membership got us a big discount here, and possibly you have some reciprocal zoo or museum that may work here. They also have some online discounts on their site,so check it out.
Plus we wore out a 10 year old for awhile. Here he is back at the hotel, lounging on an old jostling board.
Next post will be some very pretty pictures of gardens I saw walking around Charleston one morning.
Take good care out there !
Gina
Oh ! I wanted to tell many of you bloggers to eliminate the word verification for your readers to comment, it takes forever, is very difficult, and you could easily just do blog owner approval and skip it for your readers. It seems to have gotten worse than ever to try to leave a comment. You can go to your comments or settings in your blog dashboard to change it.
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Schedule our Daily Programs into your visit. Don't miss upcoming Aquarium events.data listed events?
See Events
Learn more
| March - August Open Daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Building closes at 6 p.m.) | September - February Open Daily 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Building closes at 5 p.m.) | |
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Dec 25, and half day Dec 24 (open 9 a.m -12 p.m.) | ||
Conveniently located in downtown Charleston at Aquarium Wharf.Address:
100 Aquarium Wharf
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 720-1990 Click here for Maps and Directions
Save your ticket for extra savings!
Your Aquarium tickets can be redeemed for $1 off each admission at Fort Sumter and Patriots Point.
Must present valid receipt. Cannot be combined with other offers.
Must present valid receipt. Cannot be combined with other offers.
I would definitely be all over the hand sanitizer here, too! Looks like the "boys" had fun though...
ReplyDeleteThe guys look like they had a great time. I love the duck and egret, the fish, but NOT snakes.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing pictures you took of gardens.
I hate the new word verification too. What a pain!
Have a great week ~ Hugs FlowerLady
You are brave to endure all those snakes, and have a humorous take on your visit. I think our own homes can be more germy than snakes though. I just read about sterilizing wet kitchen sponges in the microwave for 2 minutes! Your visit to the aquarium sounds like fun; we have tickets to go to one in our area soon.
ReplyDeleteDid you know I am giving away books and soaps on my blog?
P.S. Yes, the word verification is weirdly hard. I don't have that on my blog; just owner verification.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great place, and those tanks...Wow...huge! Some lovely picks of the men folk, especially the one of your son at the end. It's so cold over here that you go into an aquarium (nothing like that one!) to warm up...lol
ReplyDeleteSuper to see you all out together, having fun (and not-so-much fun for one). A great looking, healthy, trim All-American family! (Blame it on your latest post. It has got me so focussed on unhealthy weight...my own!).
ReplyDeleteThank you for this interesting tour. I'm definitely not a snake or alligator person, either. I am really looking forward to seeing the lovely gardens you'll be sharing next time.