Something Fishy at the Chattanooga Aquarium ;)

Favorite Vacation Moment

Chattanooga, TN

by cbsalemtn March 14, 2008

"Swimming" with the fish at the Chattanooga Aquarium!

In a final effort to make the most of the summer break in 2007, we took off to Chattanooga late in August to have some fun visiting some of our family we don't get to see often enough. It was *HOT*, and I mean *HOT*, so outdoor activities were less than desirable. We decided to spend most of the day at the lovely Chattanooga Aquarium...which turned out to be the perfect solution to the miserable heat. My son, Adrian, was 9-yrs-old at the time, and he had never visited an aquarium before, so this was truly an adventure for him. Adrian has Down syndrome, and as a result is developmentally delayed. He loves hanging out with his much older (as in "all grown up") cousin Corey, so they made their way through the huge tanks of fish to the open tanks where you could touch and feel the fish. Corey was telling Adrian to reach down until he touched the fish, and before we knew it, Adrian had splashed water all down the front of Corey. Fortunately, the aquarium employee near the tank at the time either didn't see him do it, or was kind enough not to make a big deal of it. Being the responsible mother, I did tell him it was not appropriate to splash the water, and not to do it again. However, for the remainder of the trip through the aquarium, Adrian was the happiest kid in there because he has successfully drenched his grown-up cousin, and he pointed out Corey's wet clothes to everyone we passed. I have to admit...even I enjoyed it.