Our trip was quick -- too quick. We arrived mid-day on Saturday and left on Monday morning. It was just enough time to say a quick hello and just enough time for a freak cold snap to, well, snap in and out. It was also just enough time for a visit to Sea World. Now, I am not a big fan of amusement parks and the kids seem to be even less of a fan than me (see previous post where a couple hours into Story Land Oliver asked to leave), I was therefore not looking forward to a day at Sea World. I envisioned lines, hoopla, lots of knick-knacks, and spending a large sum of money only to have the kids beg to leave an hour in. I was also a bit worried about turning into a freezer ball as it was 36 degrees when we woke up on Sunday morning; when we pulled into Sea World at 10:30 the temperature was 41 degrees. (A freezer ball is a term Oliver made up and it is what you turn into when you are really really cold. The layers are: ice, snow, and then a rainbow core.) Apparently others were worried about turning into freezer balls as well because Sea World was empty. The empty park combined with the just plain awesomeness of the whole place was a fantastic surprise. The day was so much fun that I was shocked when I looked at my mom's watch when we were leaving and it said 6:15 (our usual bath time). I freely admit I was wrong- that I pre-judged Sea World.
Given the park was empty we got front row "soak zone" seats at each of the three shows we went to. The shows were incredible. Oliver's favorite was the orca show (thankfully none of the orca's lived up to their more common name - killer whale). This was the first thing we did on arrival to the park and the smile on his face when the orcas did their thing - it was clear he was one happy little boy.
Henni's favorite show was one which involved sea lions, a walrus, pirates, and a sword wielding otter. She was mesmerized for the entire show. Her other favorite exhibit was the ray tank. Henni is a huge fan of rays and would spend her entire visit to our acquarium at the ray and shark touch tank. She was therefore ecstatic when she learned there was a ray touch tank at Sea World. When she gets older we are going to have to do a Discovery Cove trip so she can swim with real rays (right now she has 4 rays she bathes with at night -- every time she has the opporunity to get a special toy at the acquarium she chooses a ray and she did the same at Sea World -- the girl is a ray fanatic).
While everything at Sea World was pretty special, the most special thing about the day was that we were four generations spending the day together -- each one of us enjoying the day and enjoying each other. The kids loved sharing the time with GG and she loved being able to share in their joy and to be able to watch their crazy funny little selves.
A huge thanks to my mom who let us tag along on the adventure. While the kids were incredibly good, traveling with kids (and their accompanying junk and colds) is just not the same as traveling solo. Mom was invaluable throughout the trip and I can not thank her enough for all of her help with the kids, directions, and putting up with me and my band of crazies.
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