This week did not go exactly as I hoped. Instead of driving up to Massachusetts for my Grandmother’s funeral and spending Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, we were rear ended while leaving and ultimately had to cancel our whole trip.

Since we still had a week off from work, we decided to make the most of our newfound free time by doing some things around Charlotte that we’ve never tried before. Wednesday we decided to visit the small aquarium inside the mall we frequent.

When it was built three years ago, transforming a large vacant store space into an aquatic habitat for fish, turtles, and small sharks, I wasn’t really convinced that it could impress anyone over the age of 8. But what it lack in size and variety, it makes up for in gorgeous habitats with beautiful lighting. The aquariums are designed to maximize the space and give as many different views of the fish as possible. Although it only took 45 minutes to walk through the entire space, it put us in a great mood, ready to enjoy the holiday.