Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

I was living in Gatlinburg, Tennessee when I first heard that plans were underway to build an Aquarium here and I thought it was a poor idea. After all, this was the mountains, not the beach. That reasoning shows how little I know. In it's first few years of operation Aquarium of the Smokies has become the most visited aquarium in the United States.

When Karen and I recently took the tour it was easy to see why this one is so popular. The place is fabulous. We've been to several great aquariums throughout the country, but have never enjoyed one more than here. This is a state-of-the-art, 125,000 square foot, 1.4 million gallon facility which features eleven-foot sharks and 8,000 other exotic sea creatures from around the world.

An innovation that we especially liked was the 345-foot glide path that carries you through the world's longest underwater aquarium tunnel. In fact, we walked back and stepped back onto the moving path more than once to experience it again. This feature allows everyone an opportunity to have an unobstructed front row view.The aquarium is open 365 days a year.