Chattanooga trip

Just back from a Girl Scout overnight at the Chattanooga Aquarium. Very well-organized trip. A lot of walking back and forth between buildings and over to the IMAX, never enough time for the girls at any one stop. Of course, this is a group of girls with unlimited curiosity. Got to see some behind-the-scenes stuff, like the top of the new ocean reef tank, where a curious pufferfish comes to the surface to beg for food, and the pump room with all its color-coded pipes for the various exhibits. Also saw one of the kitchens, where we learned the animals receive "restaurant grade" food like shrimp and fish. Not sure if the mealworms and frozen rats were included in that category. We slept right on the walkways of the first building, so we really were "sleeping with the fishes". This morning we visited the seahorse exhibit, which I believe is one of the best exhibits EVER. I've seen it at least four times now, and it never gets old. Then we went to see them feed the otters breakfast. Is there anything cuter than an otter body-slamming his buddy off the rock to be the next to get a fish? The girls loved it all.

Every time I visit Chattanooga I think "I really could live here". It's a big enough city, but without too much sprawl, so much beauty, and small enough that you can spend time downtown without having to worry about the issues we deal with in Atlanta. I can't believe I'm old enough to be saying this, but we might have to think about looking for retirement property up that way. Not that we are ever going to be able to retire after the beating we've taken in the past 18 months, but it's nice to dream.