The entire ride had us worried. We were next to the river most of the drive, it was very low, to the point of us wondering if carrying the canoe would be easier than trying to actually paddle. Fortunately, once we passed the dam it got deeper. Although, I don't think the river ever got more than 5 feet deep. Upon arrival, we parked our car at the end of the river ride and they drove us back to the dam. We rented 3 canoes with Stacy and Matthew in one, Mom and Elisabeth in one, and Dad, Rebekah, and I in the last canoe. We quickly learned that of the people with paddles, Elisabeth was the worst at steering. Apparently, I had not given her enough training when we had gone out before.
The river was very low throughout the 7 1/2 mile ride and we got stuck in the rocks many times. Usually whenever we came to a low point in the river we would take two paths to see which was better, and the canoe in the back would be lucky enough to get to take the proven path. The current was slow and we never had to worry about rapids. One time Dad was in the water trying to get our canoe unstuck when Mom and Elisabeth's canoe ran right into him and knocked him into the water. So while it would have been more enjoyable had there been more water, it was still a pleasant ride down the Little River.
Wednesday was our last day. We would visit the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and then drive home after lunch. Ripley's Aquarium was the first aquarium I had ever been to and it is my favorite. I think it is smaller than the ones in Atlanta and Chattanooga. But I like the design better. Elisabeth and Matthew had been to it before Rebekah was born, but they didn't remember it.
I tried to park in the Aquarium parking, but since we had already packed, the top carrier was on the van and it wouldn't fit in the parking garage. It turned out just as well. since we were there during the off season, there was plenty of parking all over -- of course being Gatlinburg, it was all paid parking.
The Aquarium is well laid out, with you entering from the upper level and getting a glimpse of what is coming. Then you are lead through a series of small rooms with different tanks. Every now and then you are given a view of the large water tank, but mostly just enough to get you excited, never spending too long overlooking it. Then the main attraction comes: the moving sidewalk that winds through the large tank. From here you get to get right up close to hundreds of different fish and sharks all around you. They swim beside you for a while and then float right over you. It is an amazing experience and the part that makes Ripley's my favorite aquarium.
The moving sidewalk dumps you out into the Discovery Center, Coral Reef, and SWARM exhibit. This is the kids area where you can pet horseshoe crabs, play in pirate treasure and see the highly colorful fish that play in the Coral Reefs. The SWARM exhibit was a strange part of the aquarium that focused on ants and locusts. There was also a tank with "Doctor Fish" in them. This is a breed of fish that like to eat your dead skin. If you hold your hand in the water extremely still, they will come up and peck at your skin. I must not taste very good, because they never came up to my hand.
There were still more exhibits to see, a large ray tank and a ray petting room. Followed by a Penguin exhibit. There was a part that you could crawl through and have penguins all around you. There was a large crowd here and three older ladies acting like kids they were so excited being in the penguin viewing area. Eventually Mom and the three kids got into the viewing area.
That finished the Aquarium, we walked over to the fudge shop and bought several pounds of fudge. Dad bought some, but I think he later regretted it, because when we got home he made his own batch of fudge which he enjoyed a lot more. After leaving Gatlinburg, we looked around for some picnic tables, but never found any, so we ate lunch in the grass and left for home.
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