Trip and Fall, Part II

We spent the morning of Day 2 of our mini-vacay at the aquarium, in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati.

The aquarium was fantastic!  It definitely rivals our favorite aquarium to date, in Chattanooga.

As still as I thought I was being to take no-flash photography, most of my pictures didn't turn out very well.  Still, here are our favorite spots...

This is the best view we've ever gotten of an octopus.  I could have watched this guy give "wobbly waves" [a line from one of our books] all day.  AMAZING!

I was also so taken with these Japanese crabs.  They were enormous!

I didn't take any pictures in the shark theater, but it was really nice.  We were able to sit on a bench and enjoy the sharks and a ginormous tortoise swimming right in front of us, while we enjoyed a snack.

Meet Mighty Mike...the HUGEST 'gator I've ever seen!  He is 15' long...WOW!!!

I always love jellies, and the set-up in this aquarium was great.  Here are Daddy and the girls behind a glass wall, on a plush couch, just taking it all in.

We spent a long time watching the penguins.  There was a video monitor with information about each of the six different types of penguins.  It was fun to try to pick out which was which in front of us.

After the aquarium, we decided upon a great seafood restaurant for lunch.  (Sorry, fishies!)  It was a bit breezy, but the girls had jackets and we decided to sit outside and enjoy a beautiful view of the river.

I love this picture of the girls on a bench on the boardwalk in front of the restaurant.

 

We walked down to the river's edge to check out the boats.  The girls are showing off a plastic shark and penguin some nice lady gave them at the aquarium.

LOVE this picture of my Baby A!!!

LOVE this picture of my Baby B, getting a little help from Daddy!!!

After a nap for Daddy and B, and quality time in the breakfast area for Mommy and A, we set out to explore downtown Cincinnati and the riverfront that afternoon.

Smelling the flowers (just before A fell into the flowers) in the gardens in front of P&G headquarters...it is such a gorgeous few blocks!

We told the girls we'd look for an ice cream shop for snack.  How lucky were we to find a Graeter's on Fountain Square?!!!

Delight!

We walked off our ice cream (who am I kidding???) at Riverfront park.  We drove across this bridge several times, and then walked part-way across it.  The girls thought that was pretty neat!

Hugging a pig.  :)

So many gorgeous fountains...this was one of many!

One last look...thanks for the memories, Cincinnati!

We spent Day 3 at the Cincinnati zoo.  Since I was juggling three jackets and bottles of water, I opted not to take my camera.  I know I missed a few pictures, but it was a welcome break to experience everything alongside the girls, not from behind a lens.

The Cincinnati zoo was also really great.  We got to see a manatee for the first time, and we were very lucky to happen upon a trainer feeding one of the elephants.  We'd heard that the train ride was well worth it, and it did not disappoint...giving us a bird's eye view of several exhibits, and taking us across Swan Lake.

All in all, it was a splendid couple of days.  What a great trip for Fall Break!