We left at 2:30 on Saturday morning. We weren't planning on going quite so early, but I couldn't sleep so we just went with it. The weather was terrible for most of the drive with lots of rain. We were still able to make great time and arrived at the Florida Welcome Center around 1pm. Because of the rain, we couldn't have our picnic, so we ate in the car and then walked around the welcome center and collected our orange juice samples.
After we left the Welcome Center, it really started pouring. We passed multiple accidents. In one instance, we got to an accident just minutes after it had happened. There was a police officer on scene, but no ambulances or other emergency vehicles. We got routed up on an on ramp and our delay was only about 15 minutes. I read later that a car cut-off a semi carrying paint, the semi tried to avoid the collision and flipped into oncoming traffic. Interstate 95 was closed for over 4 hours!
With great relief, we pulled into the rental house around 4:30pm. My sister's family was supposed to join us, but my nephew wasn't feeling well, so they decided to stay home. We went grocery shopping at Publix--my favorite supermarket in the world and had a relaxing evening.
The next morning, my sister and her family came up. The kids all swam in the pool. My father, his friend Maggie, and my brother joined us for lunch. We checked out the large community pool, but mostly just hung around the rental house. Then, Thomas and I had a date night at our favorite spot--Colorado Fondue. It was a lovely day and night.
The next day, our family and Kim's went to Sea World. My kids had never been and they enjoyed it. After reading Death at Sea World, I was anxious to view things with a more critical perspective. We saw all of the animal shows. The unanimous favorite was "Pets Ahoy" which stars animals saved from local shelters (i.e. mainly cats and dogs). It was cute. I also liked Clyde and Seamore (Sea Lion and Otter show). The whale show was very anticlimatic. The trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the killer whales, so there really wasn't much happening. It seemed like half the show was the whales splashing the audience. There was no education aspect and it wasn't entertaining. I did get to see Tilikum, the "star" of the book and it was interesting to see the whales with knowledge of their history and the history of killer whales in captivity in general.
In addition to the shows, Thomas, JD (our nephew), Jack and I rode Journey to Atlantis. We got soaked! Everyone rode Wild Arctic, which was pretty cool. Well, except to Kara. She did not like it at all! We also saw the sharks, the sting rays, and dophin cove. After Kim's family left, we let the kids play in Shamu's Happy Harbor for a while. It was a full, fun day. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures, but here are the few I do have.
Yes, that is really it for pictures. Where are the pictures of the kids with their cousins you might ask? Yes, that would have been a great idea, especially since we so rarely see them, but alas, I didn't take any. How about the kids with whales or dolphins or sharks in the background? Also nonexistant. But, enjoy Jack in his sunglasses and a blurry shot from the Happy Harbor.
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