For as long as I can remember, I have loved the ocean. It has more moods than most humans and although it is eons old, it can drown you with vigor.

This is why I spent my recent birthday (December 21st) at the Georgia Aquarium. Admission is free on your birthday, and while I didn’t attend any shows, I did see several denizens of the deep, including the Aquarium’s most famous resident, a whale shark that has resided in Atlanta for 18 years.

(Shark swimming, photo by me)

(seals)

Whale sharks are the largest extant fish species and, fittingly, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere with over 11 million gallons of fresh and salt water tanks and over 500 species of fish and aquatic mammals, including hammerhead sharks, beluga whales, and manta rays.

(Japanese sea nettle)

The Aquarium is located near Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, near the World of Coca-Cola. Its main purpose is to encourage marine literacy (if that’s a thing) and conservation efforts. It’s also open 365 days a year.

(reef fishes near a fake shipwreck)

(Whale shark in the background)

The views here remind me of Captain Nemo’s words in the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: “See how peaceful it is here.”

(Leopard shark)

There are presentations involving sea lions (see picture above) and bottlenose dolphins in addition to a touch tank with quiet, gliding stingrays that feel like velvet when you pet them.

(bottlenose dolphin)

(beluga whale watching)

Admission is normally $59 and parking nearby is around $20, but spending the afternoon in the company of such beautiful creatures is priceless.