Dec 27 2009
Notes from the Road: Texas, Day 5
Day 5 already? I guess it is. It’s 7:30 p.m. and I almost dropped into bed with the kids. I’m beginning to think we need to work in a day of rest before too long.
Today we shuffled the itinerary a bit. We had planned to visit Sea World on Tuesday, but a high of 43 and rain in the forecast made us think twice about that. Today was forecast to be 60 and sunny, so after church, we headed out to see Shamu and company.
I had been to Sea World in San Diego when I was a kid, 1984, I believe. I don’t remember too much about it except that it was one place Mom made sure we saw. (Other stops on that trip were Disneyland, Old Town San Diego, the Wild Animal Park, and an overnight stay in Lawrence Welk Village. Those were the days.)
Since I don’t remember much about that Sea World trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Above all, I was hoping the crowds wouldn’t be too bad.
We found Sea World to be an interesting mix of zoo, aquarium, and amusement park. The admission price was steep by my standards, but we did spend six hours there. If we’d had taller, or more adventurous, kids, we would have been there longer to go on more rides. We each had our favorites: the penguins, the rides, Shamu, the Sesame Street show. We rented a double stroller and it saved some sanity by keeping the number of wandering-off and whining-about-tired-legs kids down; on the other hand, we were continually having to go back and retrieve it from the stroller parking areas after every show.
The shows were good; they were probably my favorite part of the day. I was surprised at how full the seating areas were, even though this was an off-season day at the park. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how popular the Shamu show would be, so when we arrived 15 minutes early we had to sit in the splash zone. You might not think this would be a big deal, but when you’re three and Shamu flaps his tail and gets you soaked, it’s a little different.
After Sea World, we ate supper and headed back to the hotel. I’m not much good for deep thought tonight, so I think I’ll hit the sack and revamp our daily plans in the morning.
Good night!
Related: Notes from the Road: Texas, Day 4 Notes from the Road: Texas, Day 6
That’s what I would’ve looked like in the Splash Zone too. I was not brave enough for it when we went.
In an unrelated note, can I just say how awesome you are for blogging from the road. I am always too exhausted to do it.
Carolina´s last blog ..A Year in the Life of Kids Go West
Carolina, I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts.
The thing about the splash zone is that no one would have gotten wet if it weren’t for the the intentional splashing. I would have enjoyed the show a lot more without having to worry about how wet we were going to get. The jumps and other moves were beautiful.
Linda