Pete and Tanner: May 2013

A couple months late, but you will soon see why... Sooo many pictures! Muah ha ha HA! >: )

I had a photography seminar scheduled in Atlanta, so we went a day early to hit the Aquarium too.
This was truly the most memorable trip for me in a long time.
I was so excited my brother and sister were able to come with us, Alden who had never been and Ashton had been only once years before. We met early to be the first one's in, but I have no idea what happened. This has always worked in the past, but MAN did we hit the crowds! I forgot to ask if it was spring break for them but it had to have been, ouch.

Anyway, what made this the most incredible trip for me was SWIMMING IN THE BIG TANK!
BEST. DAY. EVER!
So after we wandered the aquarium for the morning, we went for lunch and came back for the afternoon Dolphin Tales show. When the show let out, someone was holding a sign
'Dive spots available today!'
We went to eat a cupcake at the food court while Alden got some info on the dive. He met back up with us and we convinced him to go, and then in turn he got Ashton and I to go with him.
(Thank you Alden)
It was the BEST EXPERIENCE and I would recommend everyone do this at least once in their life. This is the ONLY place you can swim with the largest fish on the planet, the Whale Shark.
So from the moment we decided to go, we ran as fast as we could to the front desk to pay and rushed to meet for the dive. There were 3 other people also going, and Junior and the girls were the only family that would be waiting for the group.  How awesome, to be the last dive of the day, right before they close, and have the aquarium to ourselves! It all happened so fast, but while we went back to get ready, they had 3 staff members walk Junior and the girls around for a personal tour of the place! I was about to pop thinking of the photo ops he was about to have, without all the crowds.
How PERFECT!
Then I was even more thrilled when it hit me... I have a waterproof camera! My iPhone in it's Lifeproof case! They burst my bubble real quick though, and said that I couldn't take it in the tank. What if it was dropped... I would hate to have to wait around for a shark to poop it out : /
So at least I got pics in the locker room, we could buy the video, and Junior will get pictures of us from down below, right?!? Wrong.
.
.
.
.
.
.
He didn't take a single picture.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yeah, I cried. Literally.
It took me a couple days to get over it, this INCREDIBLE experience, and to not have any pictures was, well, excruciating. I thought he was kidding.  He said he honestly didn't think about it. I've never met anyone who loves pictures more than us and he didn't think about it?! I eventually forgave him, but this just means that he will have to dive next time and I can take pictures of him.
That would make me happy : )

So. The dive was AWESOME. First we sat in a room and signed our life away, while they listed off the dangerous creatures we were about to be swimming with. Then we suited up in the locker room, (I felt like a stuffed sausage) tested the equipment and we were in the water. The whole thing took about 3 hours, and 45 minutes of it was spent in the tank. I wondered if we would really get close to any of the fish, since we were only floating on the top, but OH HECK YEAH! We were paired up for the swim, and Alden was right next to me. He was bumped by the Whale Sharks 3 times! (Okay he reached a couple of those times)  The rule is to hold completely still when anything swims by you, but if that weren't the case, I swear I came within arms length of the sharks at least 20 times and could have touched them. SO INCREDIBLE!!! They're behavior reminded me of cats, coming up for you to pet them almost. I have to say it was the perfect amount of time in the water, and the whole experience was superb. People were nice, the video turned out great, and couldn't be happier.
Have I said that already? : )

Now for pictures.
I posted the dive video towards the end, so don't miss what Alden calls "6 minutes of awesomeness."
: )