This is part two of my travel series “How to travel to the same locale every year and fool your kids into thinking it’s a completely different vacation”.   There’s no better place to do that than our favorite destination – the “mid-Atlantic triangle” of Annapolis, MD/Baltimore MD/ and Washington DC.  All three of these dynamic cities are within about a half an hour of one another (a little longer traveling directly from Baltimore to DC) and provide endless possibilities for family recreation.

When visiting we make sure we set aside time to visit the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore.  Here a family can find a wide variety of food options (because who doesn’t get snackish on vacation?), shops and activities. 

At one end of the horseshoe that is the Inner Harbor, you can find the National Aquarium.  Not to be confused with many of the free “National” museums that comprise the Smithsonian in DC, there is an admission price to the aquarium.   Now, being eager and adventurous (or impatient and stubborn – take your pick), we tend to forge straight ahead when visiting a new place rather than spend a minute orienting ourselves to the map and guide provided for us.  We are definitely wanderers in this way. But the layout of the exhibits can be a little confusing and when we “wandered” by the giant sea turtle four times, we realized we might need the help of the map.  Once we were clear on where we were going, however, we were delighted with all we had to see.  

The main halls of the aquarium house a wide variety of animals, not only fish and sea creatures, but frogs and snakes and lizards.  The kids were particularly amused by the electric eel, whose exhibit includes a meter to demonstrate how much “charge” he was giving off at any moment.

Our favorite experiences were walking through the re-created tropical environments.  At one end lies Animal Planet Australia– a three story re-creation of the Australian Outback.  The animals here range from quirky (hello Kookaburra bird) to creepy (don’t think I don’t see you eyeing my daughter, crocodile).  Likewise, the kids were thrilled by the arboretum, which encouraged the kids to play animal detective as they searched for the creatures and birds that roamed free around us.Other highlights of our day included the dolphin show – because who isn’t happy watching dolphins? – and the IMAX 4-D theater experience.  

A few logistics to be aware of: the parking for the aquarium is a short distance away, but far enough that you may not want to have to go back during the day, so make sure you have everything you need with you.   Food and beverages are not allowed inside the aquarium, but they do have a small café with standard fare if you’re looking for a meal.  The ticket booth is outside, and although the waiting area is covered, you may get wet if it’s raining.

The best way to know how we much we enjoyed the day?  As we departed, the kids looked at us and asked “Can we do this again next year?”.  A day well spent, indeed.