Diving with Whale Sharkes

Friday was a long, long drive to Atlanta. Fortunately the weather was dry and the roads were clear. We checked into the Hilton and the guys went out for beer and pretzels at Stuckey's. Later we met with some of our other divers and the 8 of us (Aaron, Randy, me, Nancy, Rob, Justin, Laurel and Tim) had dinner at one of the nearby BBQ restaurants, where they are very proud of their twin smokers. After we finished dinner we walked across the street back to the hotel, where we waited just a little while for the rest of the divers to arrive. 

Saturday morning we were up early and what a surprise - it was snowing! I was so excited...for about 3 minutes. Then I was over it. Rob suggested we go to the Atlanta Breakfast Club for breakfast, just a short walk away. We did, and it was a great suggestion. Aaron got the chicken and waffles, Randy got the shrimp and grits, and I got Breakfast Tacos - batter-dipped fried tacos filled with eggs and bacon. Awesome.

Back at the hotel we joined up with the rest of the group. Our 12 divers were split between 2 groups, one going at 11 and one going at 3. Randy organized this trip so even though he was scheduled for the 1st dive, we stayed for both. When the divers are taken away for their pre-dive meeting, the rest of us were taken to wait for them in the big glass tunnel, where wonderful sea creatures swam over us. 

Since this happens every day, they are pretty used to people. Some of them even seem to like hanging around with us!

The divers came out here, swimming over our heads on their way to the big aquarium. We were taken to a small roped-off area where the divers came up to wave hi and get their pictures taken by their adoring fans (us).

Then it was on to the rest of the aquarium. There are amazing animals here - sharks, huge stingrays, an enormous sea turtle - animals that would normally be the star of any aquarium. 

But the Georgia Aquarium has something else that steals the show: Whale Sharks!

And not just one; they have four! They were all rescued from Taiwan’s commercial fishing trade, which (until 2008) was allowed to catch a yearly quota of whale sharks for food. These were already caught and headed for the fish market when the Georgia Aquarium decided they shouldn't be dinner. I'm so glad they did! 

They live up to the name "gentle giants'. They, like the rest of the animals, don't seem to be bothered by the little people breathing bubbles underwater. 

In between the 2 dives I eventually tore myself away from the big aquarium to see some of the rest of the place, only to get stuck in front of the Beluga Whales. They were in the middle of a training session, which meant they were getting fed a lot, so they didn't have much interest in us. But they were so amazing to watch. Is all sea-life blessed with such grace?

We planned to meet up with some of the team for lunch but we didn't find them at the Bierhouse or Stacks, so Aaron, Randy, and I had some nachos before heading back to the aquarium.  While a group was getting ready for their dive, the docents took their non-diving friends and families on a "behind the scenes" tour, where we learned all sorts of odds-and-ends.  The Georgia Aquarium was opened debt-free, thanks to a $250 million gift from Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot. They prefer to stock with animals from fish farms, zoos, other aquariums, and rescues from unhealthy circumstances. The big whale shark tank holds 6.3 million gallons of water, and all of it is filtered every hour. They also have a remarkable coral husbandry set-up, including a section where they are basically baby-sitting some unusual coral until the area where they came from becomes stable enough for the coral to be re-introduced. And it was here that I met the lovely little Leafy Sea Dragons.  

My fascination with jellyfish was tweaked by these beauties. As a child of the 60s, I'm convinced they modeled the Lava Lights after these. 

This was a great group of people, sharing a wonderful dive!

Afterwards the whole group met at Dos Bocas for dinner. The drinks were good but the food service was so slow that even when food arrived, it was cold. Eventually the restaurant decided not to charge us, but we still had a good time with new and old friends. Great dive!!! After dinner David left to drive back to Fruitland Park. We kept offering to share our room but he wanted to head home. 

The next morning everyone was out by 8, but not before we got a message that David had made it home home safe - thank God! After a long drive home we were ready to do nothing. We ordered pizza and salad from Stavros, then I queued up the Mandalorian for Aaron to watch.