Adventure at the Aquarium

This week is our Winter Break from school so today I ventured out on my own with both boys in tow to the Georgia Aquarium. We went back in September as a family and have been on their email list ever since. When we recently got an email about a special Mommy and Me date where you could get tickets super cheap (including free parking) as long as you went on a Monday-Thursday between the dates of February something and March something...I decided to go for it. And we had a great time! And made it home safely!! But not before we experienced one adventure after another.

(Let me preface the remainder of this post by saying I don't know why I am the way I am. I don't know why weird things happen to me but not to my husband. I don't know why I'm directionally challenged, high maintenance, and make things harder than necessary. It's just a joy of being me! Ha!)

Had to turn the flash to auto on my phone after this crazy pic

We left the house just before 9 this morning and made great time. My goal was to get there when it opened at 10:00 and spend our morning and lunch there before heading home early afternoonish. I had the Aquarium's address programmed into my GPS, plus a plan to get to the parking deck nearby even though that particular address was not programmed in my GPS. BUT, I found the Aquarium and drove right into the first parking deck that said Georgia Aquarium plus a few other places. I knew as soon as I pulled in I had never parked there before when going to the Aquarium... but there was no way I was leaving. How does that work anyway? Do you say you made a mistake and beg them to let you leave without paying?

Anyway, the MAIN reason I wasn't leaving was because I had no idea how to get to another parking deck without getting lost and wasting all our time and having a mini panic attack in the process. So we stayed put.

We made it all the way to the elevator of the parking deck before seeing the sign that said you needed your parking ticket with you. So we turned around to head back to the car to grab the parking ticket. (Which why would I need that if my parking was free?) As soon as I put the key in my car my alarm/panic thing went off. Horn blowing, lights flashing, everything going crazy. LOUDLY. Ughhhhh.

(My automatic lock/unlock thing on my key no longer works and for some reason inserting the key... which is the only way to unlock the door... makes the alarm go off. This has happened to me before....)

Terrell double checked it this morning and everything. But of course it would never happen to him. So both of my kids got horrified and startled looks on their faces before their lips started quivering. Which made me want to cry. I finally got the car to be quiet before we made our way to the Aquarium in the frigid cold... only to try to follow a school group in the back entrance (which is a no-no for people like us who aren't with a school group) and having to walk miles around steps to get to ramps (since I had the stroller) and eventually the main entrance. We were frozen.

The good news is, once we were inside and thawed out, things went great! The boys loved seeing all the fish and alligators and otters and whales and penguins. Austin people watched if he was bored and Garrison just told me when he was ready to move on. It was super easy and I started feeling a little more like super-mom tackling this special outing solo. We all enjoyed ourselves and had a fun time. We even made it to Dolphin Tales! Garrison loved it once again and Austin was way more entertained this time. He whined a few times but nothing major. Success!

Our biggest adventures inside the Aquarium were cramming into a handicap bathroom. And I do mean cramming. We barely fit. Plus trying to "do" lunch. Holding onto a tray, picking out food, pushing a stroller, keeping one eye on my 4 year old at all times, and paying... while holding the tray, pushing the stroller, and keeping one eye on my 4 year old... Phew! At least things went smoothly once we finally sat down to eat.

Once we had seen and done everything and it was time to go we retraced our steps back to the parking deck and directly to our car with no issues. Yay! Unfortunately things went downhill from there. First of all I had to pay for parking. It was supposed to be included in my ticket but of course I didn't park in the right deck. Which made me feel horrible since this was supposed to be a cheap outing. Supposedly I can be refunded... we'll see.

Then, the GPS quit working. It had a mind of it's own and was absolutely zero help. Nooooo. I followed a sign to 75 (as long as I could get on the interstate I knew I'd be fine) but there was literally no interstate in sight. Anywhere. So I was officially lost. And driving farther and farther away from the city (and the interstate I'm sure).

I tried really hard not to panic but I was on the verge of tears and feeling super unnerved. I didn't recognize a thing. Only railroad tracks and trains. I definitely wasn't in downtown or midtown or whatever anymore. Finally I managed to turn around, get back to the city, and search for signs for 75 again. I prayed the whole time. Austin went to sleep right away but poor Garrison knew something was wrong. And I'm terrible at hiding things from him. After a good 15 (or 45) minutes, I saw a sign (a reliable one this time) and made it onto the interstate. As soon as Garrison knew mama wasn't lost anymore he fell alseep too. My nerves were shot but I was SO thankful to be on the interstate heading home! 

The rest of the day has been a blur. I've been out of it. Plus exhausted. Our adventure of a day wore me out! Even though I'm not ready to attempt anything like it again in the near future, we all had fun and all made it home safe. I may have had a crazier day than necessary what with parking in the wrong spot and setting off the alarm because I was retrieving a parking ticket I didn't need and then with getting lost... but memories were made! (That's what I always say when things go crazy. It's like my famous line.) And the boys and I actually did enjoy the Aquarium. Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe and getting us home! Sigh. Time for bed...