We were able to sleep a little later this morning because we were only 5 highway miles from SeaWorld. We got there just before 10 AM, got great parking, and went in with the initial crowd. There wasn’t much open so everyone went to feed and touch the dolphins. We did more rides, saw the penguins and puffins, and other things.
Our main morning excitement was Corwin gouging his knee while walking on the edging bricks of one of the walkways. I forbade him from doing that anymore until his knee healed. He didn’t pay much attention, but when I called him on it and he asked “why do the other kids get to do it?” I could just point at his still oozing knee.
We all attended the Shamu show because, hey, it’s SeaWorld! How can you not see Shamu? Plus, Charles’ previous day’s excursion to the gift shop had resulted in a request to buy a stuffed Shamu for the Sleepy Time Crew but Mom decided he should at least see the real Shamu once before being acquired in stuffed form. It was a good show, although I got splashed a bit more than I anticipated since Mom had told me that they didn’t really splash that far back. On the other hand, when they called for kids to come down front to get totally soaked by the orcas, our boys were first in line. They got the splash they missed at the ski show.
We spent some time at the “Journey to Atlantis” ride. The boys had spent a good hour or two there yesterday because while the ride is OK, every time it makes a run people standing in a gallery get wet or soaked (depending on where) from spray. The boys enjoyed that more than the ride and I thought Alice might like it as well. So Corwin, Bryson, Dawson and I went off to ride while Mom watched Alice try the spray. At first Alice stood in the light spray area and ran away everytime the spray started to hit. But she gradually stayed for more and then moved over to the heavy spray section. Charles spent all this time huddled near Mom.
After that we all went to see Shamu, then lunch, then penguins, then Mom, Charles, and Alice went off to the water park while the rest of the boys did a couple additional rides and then to the water park. Mom and I mostly let the kids run around on their own. Corwin took off first and we didn’t see him until the end of the day. We hadn’t put sunscreen on him before that so we spent the afternoon in anticipation of a very crunchy Corwin but he actually remembered to put it on by himself! The wave pool was popular again and “Castaway Cruise”, a lazy river. Alice didn’t like the latter yesterday, but with the addition of a couple of cousins (and freedom from an inner tube) she thought it was great. I even got to do a turn on the lazy river before I had to watch kids and equipment again.
We closed out the park again and one thing I noted too late was that most people leave before closing. There was a big exodus around 5 PM and by 5:50 most of the line had disappeared, although that could be because they stopped letting people in line. I was busy dealing with final gift shop requests, Bryson and Dawson insisted on getting some souveniors which turned out to be 4’ tubes of colored powerded sugar. I wasn’t willing to allow that but they said their mom would do it. So I said “why don’t we just call your mom and ask?”. They called my bluff, I called their mom and she approved the purchase. The boys then spent quite a long time getting just the right sequence of colors in their sugar tubes, although I wouldn’t let them have any until we got back home, first because we were about to go out to eat and two I didn’t want colored powdered sugar all over my van.
Charles also achieved fulfillment by purchasing a plush Shamu, which he named “Tim”. Alice had recieved a plush puffin in a purse earlier as her gift shop item. Corwin was upset because he alone of the children had not enjoyed the piquant pleasure of gift shop purchasing. He insisted on buying something even if he had no idea what he wanted or even if he actually wanted the purchased item. It was about the act, not the result. Anyway, he eventually settled on a psuedo-cowboy hat after a facetious suggestion from Mom. She’ll be more cautious in the future.
For dinner we went to Genghis Grill again because Corwin insisted on it and got Bryson to support him. and I almost got something Charles would eat (just beef and fried rice) but I mistakenly used the tasty marinated beef instead of the bland intended to be mixed with other flavorings beef. I liked it though and had a second bowl instead of desert. The manager was very friendly and dropped by our table, remembering us from the previous evening. It was a nice place and I unreservedly recommend it if you’re near SeaWorld.
We saw a number of military overflights, mostly fighters but once a cargo plane. Mom didn’t notice them the first day, probably because some of the rides sound almost identical.