This is what the kids looked like when we woke up on Tuesday:
After we got all ready for the day, we went to the Crest Cafe in the morning for breakfast.
Sea World. I watched Blackfish a while back and have learned how horrible Sea World is, but the movie has faded in my memory and my conscience has dulled sufficiently to allow me to take my kids there with only the occasional, fleeting, and exceptionally faint feeling of guilt.
We started off by watching the dolphin show. Abe and the kids sat in the front row right in the wettest part of the “soak zone,” and Clarissa and I stood to the side. I have to admit, the minute the dolphins jumped out of the pool in unison, I almost started to cry at how magnificent those creatures are. They are beautiful. Mary declared them “her favorite sea creatures.” When she said that, I wistfully remembered that a year ago she earnestly declared that mermaids were her favorite sea creatures. I suspect now she knows that mermaids aren’t real. Sigh.
Anyway, after the dolphin show, we headed over to the sea lion show. I had Clarissa in the carrier all of this time, and the sea lion show was in the blazing hot sun. Even though we had covered everyone with sunscreen, Clarissa was starting to turn red in the carrier. I couldn’t tell if she was overheating or she was burning. It was a little worrisome, so I was slightly distracted during the show. As soon as it was over, we headed straight to some shade.
Then we trekked over to the killer whale show. Some clouds had come and hidden the sun, which was awesome because I don’t know if Clarissa could have handled another show in the blazing sun again. Honestly, I thought the orca show was a bit of a let down because the orcas didn’t do that many tricks. On the other hand, my faded memory of Blackfish helped me understand that this was probably a really good thing. While feeling nonplussed by the splashing orcas, I decided that when we got back to Utah I would re-watch Blackfish so I could remember exactly why it was a good thing the show has evolved to its current boring format.
After the Orca show we ate lunch at whatever restaurant is right by the river rapids ride. Clarissa finally had some time out of her carrier and we got everyone to go to the bathroom and get new diapers. Then Clarissa went back into her carrier and we napped together while Abe and the other kids rode the river rapids ride. After the river rapids, Ammon, Mary, Clarissa and I migrated over to some better seating while Abe and Lydia rode a roller coaster. Mary was not tall enough. Ammon fell asleep in the stroller, so that made life easy while we waited.
After Abe and Lydia returned, we almost went home but then decided to check out the little kid section of the park. We were so glad we did because this was a big hit with everyone. The kids all got to go on rides with very short lines and then they got to play, play, play on all sorts of kid-friendly structures. There was even a place for Clarissa to play–which she did, for over an hour.
After everyone was finished at the play place, we headed over to see the Beluga whales and walruses. The Beluga whales were my absolute favorite of all the sea animals. They were magical, regal, and so gorgeous. If I had to be an animal, I might pick being a Beluga whale.
Then Abe and Lydia went off to try to ride the biggest roller coaster in the park while I took everyone else through the penguin display. Mary had to pee frequently and so finding her a restroom was also a recurring crisis throughout the day. We finished up by finding her a final restroom, only to get to the car and have her announce she needed to pee again. At that point we put her in a diaper.
We drove through a different vegetarian fast food restaurant and were delighted once again with vegetarian fast food. It is amazing. I am half tempted to open a franchise in Utah.