On December 23rd, we met up with them so we could share an adventure together. This new aquarium is in the Layton Hills Mall, but we weren't exactly sure where to look for it. We finally discovered a sign on the building, but when we went in we found ourselves in middle of the food court. I asked one of the workers and he told me that the aquarium was under our feet and if we just took the escalator to the bottom floor, we would find it.
We got in line to redeem our annual passes and that is when Utah's Adventure Family joined up with us. We were given the passes free, with a commitment of 3 visits/reviews over the next year, but I don't think my kids will find that too painful since they really enjoyed the fun.
One thing I need to tell you upfront is to make sure you buy some tokens. They were priced on a sliding scale, so the more you got, the cheaper they became, but they were roughly $2. In the very first room, the kids wanted to feed the lizards and iguana, so they gave up a single token for some lettuce. The animals were literally eating out of their hands!
My little brother's family are truly "bird nerds," so they waited in a super long line to enter the bird cage so they could feed and play with several different kinds of birds. My kids were more interested in feeding the trout. Drama Queen started out by tossing in a few pieces and pretty soon we had every fish in the tank fighting for a morsel. The food floated on the water and they would jump to grab it. Their tails flipped water up (and sometimes out!) every time they surfaced.
The next area was the mermaid tank. Prima Donna has a friend who works there and she just happened to be the one on display when we got there. She was so good to the kids that my 6-year-old was convinced that most of the time she was a mermaid, but sometimes she would get her human legs so she could attend classes at Weber State with Prima Donna.
After the mermaids, we crossed over to an area with huge signs that read "Fish Spa." I was intrigued until I saw several women with their feet in large tanks and fish about an inch long attached to them in various places. They assured me it didn't hurt; only tickled. I watched for a few moments until the kids started daring me to try it.
You know I am not one to back away from that sort of challenge, so I plunked down my 6 tokens and climbed into the seat. After removing my shoes and socks, I plunged my feet into the chilly water. It wasn't long before the fish surrounded my toes and ankles and began to suck on the dead skin.
Honestly, it just tickled, and by the time my 15 minutes were up, I'm pretty sure my feet were a tiny bit softer. Either way, I got to be "cool" for the kids.
The shark tank was last, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as the tornado booth. Dog Walker stuffed most of the kids in there, paid his $2 and blocked the door so they couldn't escape. The wind tunnel got up to 78 mph and Scout's hair was flying everywhere.
Little brother's family took their turn in the booth and then they bought food to feed the sharks. We decided it was a good time to leave since the snow had started falling, so we loaded the kids in the van and headed for home. The kids are pretty excited to visit again soon.
I wonder what plans Utah's Adventure Family has for next week...
Oh, that looked like such a fun adventure to share with your family and your brothers. You are a sport to put your feet in and enjoy the fish nibbling at them. I couldn't have done it. Loved all of this and it looks like a sweet place to visit. Hugs~
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