One of the best things about my Florida trip was being able to take my mom and two nieces to Sea World. It was a trip of firsts for my nieces. Their first road trip without their parents. Their first time staying at a hotel. And the most important first...their first time at Sea World. And I got to be a part of that.
The trip started off a little bumpy. Silly got sick after a dinner stop at Cracker Barrel. So, instead of a three hour drive, it ended up being a six hour drive. But everything turned towards good when we got to the hotel. Honestly, it was one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at.
We were on the eighth floor and Silly and Boo ran to the window to look out over the city lights and were speechless when they saw Sea World below. Yeah, the hotel was right in front of the place. After a round of showers and a million questions about what they would see the next day, the girls finally fell asleep.
The alarm went off early. Silly was out of bed and dressed for the day but Boo was a little slower. She's actually a little grumpy in the morning. She must get that from my bro. We skipped a sit down breakfast and opted for the breakfast bars mom supplied as we waited for the bus that would take us to the park. The girls were on the edge of their seats and I think I was just as excited knowing that they were going to have a great day with the ocean life they had been learning about in school.
Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed on the new roller coaster, Manta, or any of the other rides at Sea World. My recent surgery and the boot on my leg hindered my adrenaline fix. I tried to convince Mom to take the girls on at least one of the coasters but there was no way in hell. But she did take them on some of the kiddie rides. (Shhh...but I think she had more fun on those rides than the girls.)
We got to pet the dolphins and stingrays. We walked through the shark tunnel (Silly's fave). Checked out the penguins and the girls got splashed by Shamu. We watched some cool shows and the girls learned the difference between a penguin and a puffin. We had a great time and it didn't rain on us until right before we left.
Memorable snapshots:
Silly's face on the giant crab ride.
Mom riding a giant Dori fish on the carousel and the smile on her face that I haven't seen in years.
Boo, when the fish in the stingray petting area splashed her.
The look of shock when the ice cold water that Shamu splashed on the girls soaked them completely. Boo actually stood and started to run.
Eating lunch and listening to the girls talk about how much fun they were having.
But the trophy goes to.....an amazing stress free day for my family filled with smiles and laughter.
When we got back to the hotel, the girls went swimming...pretending to be the sea life they had met earlier that day. Then we had a great dinner at the hotel restaurant. To complete the great day, we watched Sea World's firework show from our hotel window. Really cool.
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