Livin' It Up... Downtown Aquarium - Houston, Texas

Totally patting myself on the back right now but I believe that I work really hard. I generally put in 10 to 11 hour days at work Monday-Friday rarely taking a lunch break, coming home exhausted most days, taking care of Little Man, and now trying to fit in exercise at the end of my nights after I lay Little Man down for bed. Life can be so exhausting.

I needed a day off and one that wasn't used for an illness or other personal matters. Just a day to recharge and spend quality time with Little Man before the first day of school starts. Coming up quickly.

We started the morning with breakfast. I made some cinnamon spice oatmeal.

After breakfast we got ready for our day that I had planned for us at the aquarium.

The Downtown Aquarium - Houston hosts over 400 species of marine life, ability to touch sting rays in their Discovery Rig, view white tigers in Maharaja's Temple, carnival rides, and an on-site restaurant.

We made it through the aquarium in less than 30 minutes which can be a positive for a child with a short attention span who is extremely excited to go on the rides. The aquarium is overpriced fish tanks with a restaurant. You can see more fish at Petco. I so badly want to like the aquarium. Sigh. What I do like is the Discovery Rig where you can feed and touch sting rays. Little Man was so brave and it was a neat experience. Another positive is their restaurant because the atmosphere is fun and the food is delicious.

(Little Man thought it was odd to have a tiger in an aquarium and said he looks so sad, I agree.)

Feeding the Sting Rays

Speaking of the restaurant, seeing all of the fish makes me crave sushi. I know, that's bad. It's not on their menu so I ordered the Mariner's Mixed Grill without the garlic mashed potatoes because I knew they would probably be loaded with butter and heavy cream. I also did not use the melted butter provided and if I knew in advance they drizzled the shrimp and lobster with butter I would have requested it be left off. Their green beans were so delicious and so was the steak.

($8 Slurpee Shark Souvenir Cup)

After lunch we went on the shark train ride. There is a part of the ride where you sit in a tunnel with an aquarium overhead filled with sharks and the train engine runs blowing out smoke continuously. Our eyes burned and the smell made me nauseous. This ride was Little Man's favorite.

Then we rode the ferris wheel. He was excited and I had to pretend that the swaying of the cars didn't bother me as well as the crickety sounding ride. Ugh!

Next was the carousel which is absolutely a bore to me.

Once we stepped off the temps must have climbed at least 10 degrees from when we first arrived because we were both sweaty and overheated. He requested Dippin' Dots and to go into the Cool Zone after. 

Before we left the aquarium we stopped at the gift shop and he picked out a rubber shark for bath time and a mug with his name on it. 

I would definitely recommend Moody Gardens instead even though it's a bit more pricey and a farther drive. Our day at the Houston Downtown Aquarium for the two of us ran about $150. You have to pay for everything... parking, entry, and food. I'm not even sure the all day value pass was worth it except Little Man enjoyed his day here and said he couldn't wait to go back. If he really wanted I would take him because he makes everything so much more enjoyable. 

Afterwards we went to Starbucks so I could pick up an iced coffee since I had a raging headache from caffeine withdrawal and dehydration. Then we went home to relax and watch a movie. He chose to watch, The Nut Job, on Netflix.

Exploring a local attraction and spending quality time with Little Man was the best way to spend a day off from work.