Ocean one-on-one

How would you feel if one of the fiercest creatures on earth was staring at you.. only wishing it could dig its teeth into your flesh? And that creature is a shark! May be a chill down the spine...? Well I had a similar encounter...only that I was on the other side of the reinforced glass, thankfully!

I am talking about my trip to the Adventure Aquarium where I had teet-a-tee with sharks, hippos, turtles, seals, fishes and all kinds of sea creatures.

The Adventure Aquarium on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border sure has some adventure attached to it. Located on the Camden Riverfront in New Jersey, it overlooks the gorgeous Philadelphia skyline right across and can be a lot of fun for the sea lover and those with an interest in marine life.

The aquarium is divided into many parts...like the West African River Experience, where Nile hippos Button and Genny entertain the visitor. One gets to see them playing underwater... through the massive glass tanks.

The Juels Verne gallery houses the beautiful jelly fishes (See my pic below), the giant spider crabs and a Giant Pacific Octopus.

The Shark Realm is what i liked the best... my primary reason to visit...to have a full frontal view of the sharks! the 40-foot shark tunnel is the best what I have seen. Not only can you see the sharks through the glass...you can see them right over your head..often their eyes staring in hunger at you. Over 20 sharks live in this 550,000-gallon shark realm.

And if you’ve got the guts, the aquarium also lets you swim with the sharks under the guidance of an expert shark handler, of course. And no...I aint that adventurous. I did not even have the guts to touch a star fish (another feature).

The Caribbean Currents features hundreds of brightly colored tropical fish, lined seahorses, pipefish, barracuda, and the blue and gold macaws and double yellow-headed amazons.

The Ocean Realm introduces one of the rare creatures of the aquatic world the Shark rays. They are considered the "pandas" of the aquatic world because they are so rare in any aquarium setting.

The penguin island is one of my aves...cuz I love penguins...who doesnt? They’re cute. They walk funny. They’re flightless. They’re the African Penguins. And they’ve got over twenty of them.

And this is just a peek into the adventure..I sure had a great time there.