Is it day four? I've lost track. But what a day it has been! We heard lots of rolling thunder throughout the wee hours of the morning and when we got up, opened the door and looked outside we were met with sheets of heavy rain, flashes of lightening and low, rumbling thunder. What were we to do? "Hey, kids! Let's all load up and go sit on some big metal bleachers surrounded by water!"
We headed on to Sea World, in spite of the odds. We got there when they opened at 10:00 and ran down to feed the dolphins right off the bat. SO COOL! But more on that later. My smart husband had had the foresight to purchase two more umbrellas last night (I talked him into getting one fun one!) and we were sooooooooo glad. After the first 30 minutes, we were soaked to the bone, even with the umbrellas. But we were happy!
We thoroughly enjoyed the killer whales (it is soooooo cool to watch the interaction with the trainers and everything they do together!), but most of the pictures didn't turn out very good. I think it's something that every kid should be able to experience at some point in time. Ours really enjoyed it--Sam was especially excited. I hope we can take our kids again, maybe when they're teen-agers.
The dolphin show was terrible. I mean, the dolphins were great, but we rarely saw them! They do a show that has all kinds of divers and acrobats and syncronized swimmers and all manner of craziness... and every now and then a dolphin or white whale would show up and jump or splash. But it was mostly weird people, dressed weird, doing weird things. A great disappointment. Still, the dolphins themselves were cool.
Afterwards, we headed back to the Dolphin Cove to see the bottlenose dolphins again when we wouldn't be so rushed and inhibited by the pouring rain. (It had let up by that time and only sprinkled off and on the rest of the day--perfect!) The kids all fed the dolphins and Katie and Joe were able to pet one, too. They were almost as excited as their mother was. ;-) (I've wanted to pet a dolphin my whole life. Maybe next time I'll hop in and swim with them... Ha! I wish!!!)
Here we are, having a great time, waiting for the sea lion show to start.(I only wish I had thought to bring a hat for myself
--it would've come in real handy today!)
The sea lion and otter show was terrific. They're very well trainedand just seem to have so much personality. The kids loved this one.
(It was my favorite when I was a kid, too.)
And, of course, Uncle Max (the walrus that the detective sea lions had been searching for) made his appearance at the end of the show.
We visited the rest of the sea lions before we left for the day. This one seemed to be enjoying the attention.
And here we are, on our way out of the park after a long,but very fun and rewarding day!
We stayed until they closed at 6:00, then came back to the motel to "freshen up." Actually, James refused to take me out to dinner until I did something with my hair. Said I looked like a wet rat or something. I was rather offended until I actually saw a mirror. Then I was glad he'd brought us back to the room first! Ha! We ate at a Bar-B-Que restaurant next to the motel, then came back and have had a nice, relaxing evening. The kids are all sacked out now and they're even too tired to snore tonight. All is still and quiet except for my clicking on the keyboard. And, of course, the rain pounding outside and the occassional crash of thunder. Yup, the storm is back, and with great fury. Actually, I think James said something about a flood watch, a thunderstorm watch, and a tornado watch here in this particular spot. Hhmmm. (Don't worry, computer people, I'm using the battery on the laptop--I am not plugged in!) After the week we've had, I think this crew could sleep through about anything.
Tomorrow we plan to meet Sister Marcia and family (including Adam, if he's feeling up to it) for breakfast. Well, kind of. Can you still call it breakfast at 10:30??? Anyway, we intend to eat with them before heading home. This has been the best family vacation we've ever had, I think. Aside from the ones that involve Grandparents and cousins and such, of course. Next time we'll try to bring those with us, too--it would've been even more fun! It's been the perfect week (even the rain was a blessing--people who might have been dressed none-too-modestly at Sea World were covered up with slickers today! Ha!) and we've had a BLAST. But there's no denying that I'm all touristed out. I'm ready to go home now. ~sigh~ What a great week. Well, I guess I'd better get this posted before my battery dies.
G'night All!,
~Becki~
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