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Adventures Under The Sea

This post brought to you by Summer of Groupon. All opinions are 100% mine.

My pirate-loving sons wanted to go on a treasure hunt, so in a tank full of baby sharks and tropical fish, they hunted for the treasures of Atlantis as part of the Pirate Snorkel Adventure at Atlantis Aquarium (aka Long Island Aquarium) we found on Groupon. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the long drive to Riverhead with our sunroof open, while we talked about what they really wanted to see that day at the aquarium (they love penguins and sharks).

Once we arrived, our pirates suited up.

pirate adventures snorkeling-2
pirate adventures snorkeling

We saw so many exhibits that day, from butterflies and plants to sea life and birds. My son’s favorite book is about penguins, so he loved the penguin exhibit particularly.

visiting the penguins display
penguins
at th aquarium

We saw a dancing sea lion named Java who jumped and did tricks while a crowd cheeres him on…

waiting for the seals
dancing seal
jumping seal

โ€ฆgorgeous colorful fish in a Japanese Koi pond…

japanese koi pond with tropical fish

…and even carnivorous plants!!

carnivorous plants

My youngest son was enthralled by the real life Mr Krabs and friend (they were huge!)

large crabs
long island aquarium crabs

They later played with littler crabs (not little, just littler) in a small wading pond full of sea crabs and stingray:

playing with sea crabs-2
playing with sea crabs-3

Then we arrived at the shark tanks, where the glowing atmosphere and beautiful sea creatures that varied from exotic to ferocious enchanted all of us watching them.

beautiful fish in aquarium-2
beautiful fish in aquarium-3
beautiful fish in aquarium-4
beautiful fish in aquarium

While we were there, I found out they had shark cage diving, in which I put on a wet suit, get into a cage, and go underwater while shark swim around me. What kind of crazy person would want to do that?? Me! That’s who! So I did ๐Ÿ™‚

exotic ferocious sea creatures
shark encounter long island aquarium-3
shark encounter long island aquarium-2
shark encounter long island aquarium

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and well, we won’t always have these summers as a family. It was a great day, another great day in a great summer.

What family adventures have you been enjoying this summer? Have you visited the Summer Shop on Groupon to check out fun and exciting things to do with your family?

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  • How fun. My kids would love going to an aquarium. I wish we had one close. Great pictures!

  • This sounds like such a great adventure. I love anything to with aquarium like settings. I would love to do this with my family.

  • Wow, looks like everybody had a great time. The dancing sea lion would be a lot of fun to see. You’re right, the Mr. Krabs are huge!

  • What a wonderful experience! I love how they have so many exhibits that you can actually get in the water to enjoy. Brave girl swimming with the sharks!

  • Looks like such a fun place to visit. Glad you all had a great time and looks like they learned a lot.

  • Wow that looks like such a fun place to go and visit. Looks like a full day of fun!!!

  • Those crabs look huge!

  • That looks like an amazing adventure!!

  • I’d love to just see Java the sea lion. ๐Ÿ™‚ Looks like you guys had a blast!

  • This looks like a world of fun for kids!

  • Glad to see you guys are having a blast!

  • So much fun for the kiddos! Looks like you all had such a blast! Waiting for the free days at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to take my babies to ๐Ÿ™‚

  • What a place, what a way to spend the day! I can tell the kids were in awe.

  • That is so awesome. What a fun looking place. I would totally have been game for swimming with the sharks if I knew I was safe in a cage.

  • Looks like a fun trip. I love sea lions shows, because they are always so cute!

  • Wow! This definitely looks like such a bucket list item! What a fun summer experience!

  • Wow, what a fun and amazing experience that must of been! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • That looks like such a fun aquarium to visit! I wish it was closer so I could take my kids!

  • The Atlantis Aquarium looks like a great place to visit. I love all of your pics!