Lake Keowee

We had a blissful day at Lake Keowee with a group of Furman's sustainability leaders. There were so many things to do in the water, we didn't know where to start.

Well, swimming, of course

And then we checked out some of the boats

Ellie and I took a canoe out for a spin

Sadie loved every minute of it.

Wow! Aquarium Visit Part I

The aquarium in Georgia is spectacular. The entrance takes visitors through a corridor lined by two huge tanks with large fish swimming alongside the humans. The hallway leads to the center area in this photo. Ellie was in love with the place already. She got comfy here on the floor and would have stayed put for the whole visit if we hadn't persuaded her there was actually MORE fun stuff to see.

Both girls loved how up-close they could get to all the fish.

The exhibits are set up with young children in mind. There are plenty of secret passageways and tunnels through tanks. Here is Ellie in a kid-sized tunnel looking through the tank at me from a bubble window.

And on the inside of the bubble window...

They even have Sadie-sized viewing areas!

Cool Critters: Aquarium Visit Part II

Ellie made friends with this fish. She named it Goldie.

Hi little guy.

Jelly Fish Series: Aquarium Visit Part III

I don't know why, but any aquarium we go to I end up being drawn in by the jelly fish exhibits. In real life, of course, I fiercely avoid these creatures. But behind the safety of an acrylic tank wall, I love watching the graceful way they move. This exhibit was the best one I've seen yet. I couldn't stop taking photos.


A lot of these look like the photo is upside-down but they aren't. The jelly fish came into view at the top of the tank and swam down to the bottom.

A different type of jelly fish in a separate tank:

Big Tanks: Aquarium Visit Part IV

Sadie loved the whole aquarium until we got to this tank, where the beluga lives. Something about a huge white thing slowly drifting right next to her freaked Sadie out. (I guess that's a healthy fear.) She was ok when it was far away but she was all about keeping her distance.

I just love this photo of Ellie and wish it was a little more in focus. We were in a tunnel going through a huge tank so no flashes were allowed. This image perfectly captures Ellie's attitude through the whole aquarium. She was enthralled. She loved that she could take this photo sheet with her to help her spot the different types of creatures we were seeing.

All over the aquarium there are lots of cool spots to see into the large tank.

Wes loves the Ocean Voyager tank. He could sit here all day.
Sadie awake in the sling...

... and Sadie asleep.

OK - so this isn't the aquarium, but while we were in the area we stopped by Ikea. Ellie was in heaven! At one point she asked me if we could stay the night there. Here she is trying out the princess bed.

Zoo visit

Elephants are cool.

Right now they are Ellie's favorite animal.

There was something interesting behind Ellie... but now I can't remember what it was.

She was busy dancing to her favorite song here.

Sadie tried out some new moves in the zoo playground.

Hi Sweet Pea!

I like this ride.

I can get all kinds of crazy on here.

See my fancy footwork?

Jumping!

We love anything that involves jumping. Here we are at a bouncy castle place.

Peek-a-boo!

This is fun!
With Daddy and the Loch Ness Monster (southern-style)

It is VERY hard to stand up in a bouncy castle.

They have other toys too.

All this stuff, just my size.

I don't know what this does, but the lights and music are exciting.

Taking a rest.

Ellie was there too!

She was in the big kid bouncy castles where it is a lot harder to take photos.

In a big kid bouncy castle with Daddy