Utah Trip - Day #4

Today was our 2nd day of the Salt Lake Pass and we wanted to get in more than the 3 attractions we got in yesterday! Well, that was our plan. So we started out early and went to the Living Planet Aquarium. We were pleasantly surprised by how large the displays were, since the outside of the building looked a little "small". The aquarium was set up in different rooms such as wetlands, coral reef, local Utah aquatics and the ocean. Brianna was able to pet a sting ray in the touch pool (the rest of us did not want to!!) and then we went into the Journey to South America room. They had a display next to the electric eel - you touched it so you would know how it felt to be zapped by an electric eel. John touched it and basically said it was no biggie and he did not feel a thing. So I touched it. OUCH! Imagine sticking your finger in an open electric socket and holding it there for awhile... The girls thought that it was pretty funny that it hurt me so much and not John at all - I think he was faking when he touched it (or maybe so many callouses over the years?)
Next up? The Utah Museum of Natural History. They had some really cool displays: Dinosaurs, minerals, native animals, archeology, and a Frog display. John especially liked the minerals (as he used to be a jeweler) and Audrey seemed to like the dinosaur exhibition. I liked the frog display, particularly the "frogs in literature" section.
After the museum we headed downtown to eat at the Lion House pantry. The pass gave each of us $9.99 toward a meal (which was more than plenty). The Lion House pantry is on the lower level of the Lion House and the food is served cafeteria style. Today's menu included a choice of bean and bacon soup, Santa Fe chicken, soup in a bread bowl, or ham & potatoes = and that's basically what we had (each of us choosing a different meal). Of course we all had a Lion House roll (with honey butter) and tried a couple of desserts as well.
After our meal we headed to The Gateway (a retail outdoor mall) that housed our next attraction, the Clark Planetarium. The entrance to The Gateway is the old Union Pacific Depot, which has been renovated to now be a location to hold special events in the grand hall. As you can see, it is a rather nice, large, open space to have an event or to spin & spin:
After a little shopping in the stores we headed to the Clark Planetarium. Our ticket allowed us to see an Imax 3D show as well as a star show in the Hansen Dome theatre. We started running short of time so picked one, the Imax 3D "Under the Sea". After the show we checked out some of the displays and, of course, the souvenirs.
For dinner we stopped at a local grocery store (Harmon's) that served fresh, daily made items in their deli case like twice baked potatoes, lasagna, frog eye salad, etc. John and I got some Hotel Utah rolls & some chicken salad, Audrey tried their mac&cheese and Brianna had a twice baked potato. It was a yummy dinner and we then went to our hotel to crash - what a busy day!!