Violet visits Ripley's Aquarium: fishiness...

On a recent weekend, my granddaughter Violet's parents whisked her away to see the fishies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at Ripley's Aquarium.

Having many attractions such as Tropical Rainforest, Shark Lagoon, Ocean Realm, Gallery of the Seas, and Coral Reef, the Aquarium is worth the trip, especially if you happen to be slightly less than two years old like Violet and have never before seen or experienced such amazing creatures in person ever ever in your life.

Ripley's Aquarium contains 10,000 exotic sea creatures which outnumbers the population of Gatlinburg, and many of the exhibits have delightful hourly Dive Shows scheduled for your education and entertainment.

At Coral Reef you can view lovely undersea, undulating beauties from Indo-Pacific waters while standing amidst the Great Smokey Mountains--including parrots, damsels, and angels.

Galleries of the Seas is aptly named for it features the brighter-hued species that could just as well be paintings, along with the odder looking seahorses, octopuses, jellies, and the more frightening denizens of the deep.

Buy tickets online so you don't have to queue up and you'll have a smashing close-up view of Poseidon's otherworldly realm of beauty with its fins, snouts, and claws of wonder.

And if you're not in the neighborhood or simply prefer being an armchair traveler (a noble aim, I agree), check out the Aquarium's website with its lovely Slideshows from each exhibit here: http://www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com/whatyou_home.asp and, for an eye-witness view, I hope you enjoy a few photos of a properly astounded little two-year-old, our little Violet, who loves the beautiful fishies very very much!