Audubon Aquarium of the Americas

During the last weekend in June, Eli and I took a little trip to see my parents. Since we were going to be staying with them for a couple of days we went ahead and made plans to make the drive to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. My brother, Caleb, and his girlfriend, Kailey, had been wanting to go to the aquarium with Eli so this seemed like a good time to go! We thought about doing the zoo while we were down there, but it's just too hot...maybe in the fall when it gets cooler. 

I've been to New Orleans more times than I can count but I've never been to the aquarium. I was really looking forward to seeing everything. Eli was most excited about seeing the sharks and the penguins. 

In the very first tank, workers were feeding the sting rays and some of the other fish. They were going crazy...the fish, not the workers. The sting rays were definitely my favorite. They looked so happy :) Of course, I wouldn't be very happy about seeing one of them in the wild, but behind glass they're pretty cool.

Our next stop was to look at some of the fish and animals you would find in the Amazon. The creepiest one here was the anaconda. Ooooh, how I hate snakes. I couldn't get a good picture of it because of its size, but just trust me when I tell you it was not fun to look at.

Eli loved holding the map and kept directing us which way we needed to go. 

Eli with Grammy and Pop

Sparkly piranhas

We came back inside and met some pretty cute penguins. I wish we could have gotten closer to them like when we went to the Dallas World Aquarium, but they were still fun to watch.

Next, it was time for some sharks! First though we had to take a picture inside the jaws of the shark mouth. It's an obligatory photo op for sure.

Eli loved watching the sharks.

We moved on to the seahorses next. They are always one of my favorites at an aquarium. They're just fascinating creatures to me.

I thought this seahorse was prego, but found out it is a species called the potbelly seahorse.

I thought the lionfish were pretty cool, too.

The moray eels were CREEPY!

We visited the frogs next.

Then we ate a quick lunch in the cafeteria and after that we went to visit the birds. Usually, I'm not a fan of birds, but this was a fun experience for all of us.

After the birds, we came back in and visited the shark tank again. Eli loved watching them.

One of the last tanks before leaving were the jellyfish tanks. I think jellyfish are really pretty to look at and they photograph so well. Once again though, if I see them in the wild, I'm going to get away from them quickly!

I let Eli pick out two small souvenirs and then we left the aquarium. It'd been a very fun day! I can't wait to go back in the fall and visit the zoo and maybe the insectarium. I know Eli will love them both!