Day 34 - Atlanta

The trip was winding down and our minds were firmly set on what was to follow; Nic and Val’s flight home and our setting up of the Wilmington house.
We parked the beast up at a quiet park and ventured across a 4 lane highway to catch the bus into the city. The traffic was fast and constant, the nearest traffic light some way up the road, so linking arms with Val, we closed our eyes and made a dash. At that stage, we should have took our bearings because we were still to return and would be in desperate need of landmarks in order to signal to the driver that we wanted to disembark.
A second bus, a little stroll and we were at the aquarium. It looked a modest building but looks can be deceiving.
We entered to a large concourse from which there were seven or eight halls. Each hall had a focus; marine, tidal, freshwater. The exhibits were outstanding because of their scale. We watched a whale lazily circling its pool, then marveled at a huge tank with all manner of fish including whale shark. Had we been more organized, I might have taken the chance to swim in that tank however, I guess ultimately I would have begrudged paying the fee. That particular tank was built over a spectator walkway and we gawped as the whale sharks were fed by a remote controlled inflatable. It was an excellent visit but, as mentioned earlier, our minds were elsewhere.
We finished our penultimate day with a Chinese take-away and the beast was given a good clean. Bags were packed and we wondered how we were ever going to get all our belongings into the Honda, particularly as Dan had left much of his essential equipment behind – including his full set of weights which remained purely as ballast throughout the journey.