August 16, 2019 Odysea

While we were in the Scottsdale area we decided to visit the aquarium, OdySea.  They tell you to stop at the restroom first.  This is what I faced when I washed my hands - very impressive!!

Next, we went to the wake up for Big Mike who is the resident alligator.  He weighs 800 lbs. and it 14 feet long. We saw plenty of alligators in the Okeefenokee swamp.  But none of them slept with their heads propped up!!

We saw a sloth but, as typical for a sloth, it just laid in its basket all curled up.  The parrot moved all around the branch by just holding on to it with its beak.  And the electric eel was just scary to look at!!

It was quite the experience to ride the escalator that traveled through the "Great Barrier Reef tunnel!!

We went to see "Otter Enrichment."  Surprisingly, they sleep most of the day.  The docents at OdySea wake them up to feed them and they sleep the rest of the time!!  The photo on the left is the three otters all curled up together!

We enjoyed the penguin exhibit but they move so fast in the water.  I should have taken a video!

We saw all kinds of new sea creatures.  One was a batfish that has feet which is good for them because they are not good at swimming!!

Not the most beautiful of sea creatures, but the Giant Pacific Octopus is always interesting.  In the Octopus talk they put food in a contraption and you can watch the octopus deftly open all the doors.

The deep ocean talk is in front of a huge tank.  The talk covers sting rays, sea turtles and sharks.

The Odysea Voyager is a guided ride that takes you past tanks to see:

1 - Giant Groupers

2 - Sea Turtles - the turtle at the top of the photo has "bubble butt"  He's got air in his butt and it is difficult for him to swim below the surface!  Most of the creatures in this aquarium were injured and at least have a safe home at Odysea

3- The sea lions in the water are so different from the sea lions we saw on shore in California.  These guys were moving!!

4 - Last stop on the voyager was to see the sharks!

Had to grab a shot of the jelly fish!!

We finished off our day with a quick bite to eat at Pangea -the animated pterodactyl flying above us was quite eye catching!

There are activities that require additional fees.  One is called Penguin Encounter where you interact with a penguin. There is another one called Sea Trek, where you put on air-filled helmet and a special suit and you walk in the water with all the sea creatures.  We had a wonderful day at OdySea and it was great to get out of the Arizona heat for a day!!