Category Archives: attraction

An Event of a Lifetime-Lana’i

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Diamond’s Event of a Lifetime

As a Timeshare Owner with Diamond Resorts, I am always invited to a special event when I come to Maui. These events are called Event of a Lifetime and are usually interesting and enjoyable. The cost is minimal and 90 minutes of your time to hear an “owner update”. This time the Event of a Lifetime is a day trip on the Trilogy to Lana’i. 

Sail Trilogy

Trilogy is one of the premier attractions providing sunset Dinner cruises,whale watching trips and a day trip to the island of Lana’i. As of 2012, the island was 97% owned by Larry Ellison (Founder and Chairman of Oracle), with the remaining 3% owned by the state of Hawaiʻi and privately owned homes. There is a ferry to Lana’i so you can visit the island on your own.  An animal sanctuary on the island is home to 380 feral cats! They have no natural enemies so they just multiply.

Hulopo’e Beach and Marine Preserve

We requested permission to enter the harbor by blowing on a conch shell. Then we waited for a response. Once it came we headed to our slip at the dock. We were greeted by Native Hawaiians chanting. As we disembarked we were presented with shell lei’s of welcome. It was only a short walk to the beach but air conditioned van’s were waiting if anyone wanted to ride. 

Part of the beach was set up exclusively for us. There were picnic tables and chairs, a supply van with masks and snorkels and snuba equipment. Nearby was a trail down to the tide pools. 

Captain Coon’s BBQ lunch

After a morning spent relaxing on the beach, swimming, snorkeling and snuba diving we were escorted to a covered open air building for lunch. Captain Coon’s BBQ is salad, rolls, BBQ chicken and noodles. The chicken was quite tasty but several guests said their chicken wasn’t cooked through. I suppose cooking for a crowd like ours can be a challenge.

Crossing the Auau Channel

Heading back to Maui we had to cross the Auau Channel. We were heading into the wind now and that served to give us a wet and wild ride. Water soaked everyone in the bow until the captain had the sails set and turned off the engines. Once we had wind power the ride smoothed out. Over paper cups of ice cream we looked for whales. Too soon it was time to make our way back to Lahaina. 

If you are on Maui and want to explore Lana’i you can take a ride on the Trilogy or take the Maui to Lana’i Ferry. Its a step back to “old Hawaii”. 

 

The Georgia Aquarium is one of Atlanta’s must do attractions.

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Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium is one of Atlanta’s must do attractions. As you approach, the  huge aquarium presents the silhouette of a ship’s prow. The majestic building sails across the the northern end of Centennial Olympic Park. Georgia Aquarium is the largest public aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. Its mission is to drive conservation, education and economic growth. 

Dinner at the Aquarium

As part of Redferno attendees were invited to an after hours dinner at the aquarium. Exhibits were kept open and we were free to roam among the exhibits all while indulging at the generous buffet tables. Servers circulated with trays of bite sized appetizers. Free-flowing drinks included all types of wines and beer So with drink in hand or a plate of chicken fingers we explored the massive aquarium. 

 

The Georgia Aquarium Experience

Right off the entrance we spotted the sweet, playful otters and typical fish galleries but exploring deeper is where the magic happens. If you don’t scuba dive have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to swim with sharks and rays and fish big and small? Well this is the place to be. Welcome to the Ocean Voyager Tunnel.  There is no other way to put it. You are standing in a protected tunnel with water and marine creatures all around you. They swim beside you and over you. Yes look up. They are above you too. 

Shark! Shark!

Right now sharks swim in the huge tank along with the rays, groupers and other smaller fish. The Tunnel tank also provides a home  to the magnificent whale sharks but there is more coming. Georgia Aquarium is expanding. The construction zone around the aquarium will soon  be a new home for sharks. The saltwater gallery will feature stunning floor to ceiling acrylic windows to give guests an up-close and personal view of these majestic animals. This new experience will help guests have a deeper appreciation for the important role sharks serve and inspire them to join conservation efforts to protect our oceans. The new exhibit is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020.

 I may have to plan a long weekend back to Atlanta this fall!

Whale Shark at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

 

 

 

Theater Of The Sea

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Theater of the Sea

Theater of the SeaTheater Of The Sea

Theater of the Sea is located on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. It’s a Marine Mammal Park. I read the web site but I was still a bit overwhelmed with the choices. You have general admission, swim with Dolphins, wade with dolphins, and meet the dolphin. If dolphins aren’t your preferred mammal then you can swim with a sea lion. Are reptiles more your speed? Then you can sign up to feed and interact with a sea turtle. So many choices, so little time. Plus your choices can really eat into your budget. Each interaction will add on $65.00 – $200.00. I just couldn’t decide.

General Admission

I was excited to be going to Theater of the Sea. I’d been thinking about swimming with Dolphins since I missed out when I went to Nassau many trips ago. But how to choose between Swimming, wading or meeting the dolphins? I decided to test the waters by sticking to a general admission ticket. A general admission ticket was only $40.00 ($39.95) and offers dolphin, sea lion, and parrot shows, a bottomless boat ride, a lagoon-side beach, as well as a fish and reptile tour with tropical fish, sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, alligators, and crocodiles. It sounded like I’d cover all of the options. 

Arrive Early

The Box office opens at 9:30 am and I was there on the dot. There were only a few cars in the lot when I arrived. You enter through the gift shop. The clerk gave me a friendly greeting and took my money for the general admission. She told me the shows are continuous so I could join in or drop out at any time. I could rejoin any that I missed. 

Theater of the Sea

 

I caught up with the fish and reptile tour first. Alligators and crocodiles, loads of sea turtles, the tour was fun and informative. At each enclosure the guide stopped to spend time with the animal. The animals all recognized what was coming- food! They were all hand fed by the guide. 

Theater of the sea

 

 

 

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

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Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel trip, decisions,  decisions,  decisions! The gift shop was between the Visitor Center and the beach. They had signs out for the afternoon trips. The seas must have calmed down. Time to check out my options. 

Snorkel the Reef?Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel

When I entered the shop a couple were talking to the Snorkel sales person. She was really pushing the Dramamine. The seas were still running 2-3 ft and it was quite rough. She didn’t think they’d get to the Christ Statue today but that it would be up to the captain to decide when he got out there. She did assure them that they could bring children. I don’t think I’d take kids snorkeling on 2-3 foot swells but maybe that’s just me. I prefer my snorkeling in calm sheltered waters. If it’s rough give me a regulator and scuba any day. Much easier. Having overheard that I moved on to the Glass Bottom Boat desk.

The Glass Bottom Boat

The sales rep at the Glass Bottom Boat desk was also encouraging the use of Dramamine. The reefs are located between 3 and 8 miles offshore off the coast of the Florida Keys so exploring them on your own is out of the question unless you have a boat. The “Christ of the Deep” statue is located at Key Largo Dry Rocks reef. No glass bottom boat tours go to see the statue; the area is too shallow. After some personal soul searching I decided on the glass bottom boat. I really wasn’t up for hard snorkeling and swimming yet and my scuba certification is still in limbo. The Glass Bottom Boat would give me a chance to check out the conditions. How rough was it really? How clear is the water? 

Glass Bottom Boat3 pm Boarding time

It was almost 2:30 so with a 3 pm boarding time I opted to turn in my gear and wait at the marina. I didn’t want to take a chance on losing track of time and  literally  “missing the boat”. The Glass Bottom Boat is the “Journey”. I settled on a bench in the Gazebo to wait for it’s return.Glass Bottom Boat or Snorkel?

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

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Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park

Back to the Park

The whole purpose of my trip to Key Largo was to see the reef at John Pennekamp Park so it was only reasonable to go back to the park after lunch. My receipt got me right in. I still had all my snorkel gear. When you rent it you rent it for the day so I thought about an afternoon snorkel. My feet were still hurting from the morning adventure on the coral so I decided I’d check out the visitor center first.Back to the Park

Environmental Education and Visitor Center

The Visitor center was refreshingly cool. As I walked in I saw a theater that was running a continuous loop of film. One of the other visitors was just leaving and he told me I had perfect timing. The loop was just starting again. That was good enough for me. I popped into the theater and made myself comfortable.The underwater photography was beautiful but the message was a serious one. The movie was about an hour long and it was about the conservation of the seas. It followed the life cycles of the tiniest creatures  ending with the mammals. It was very worthwhile. Throughout the movie people came and went. Too bad they didn’t sit through to the end.

Back to John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park30,000 Gallon Saltwater Aquarium

The main feature of the visitor center was the 30,000 gal aquarium.  The aquarium was filled with native fish. Kind of a sneak preview of what you could see on the reef.  Smaller aquariums featured different reef animals including my lunch, the Florida (spiny) lobster.

Back to the Park

 

If you go

The park is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until sunset but parking can fill up early. All park buildings including the Concession Building and Visitor Center are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

All visitors are required to pay an entrance fee:
$8.00* per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
$2.00* Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.
$4.00* Single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle.
*Plus $.50 per person Monroe County Surcharge.