San Diego Vacation – Day 3

Posted on July 26th, 2008 by Jean

Before heading home, we decided to visit the Wild Animal Park.
 
First stop, the Conservation Carousel.
 

Did I mention I forgot to put on sunscreen?
 
We were lucky to see a family of coots. Perhaps you’re familiar with all 3 stages.
 

 
In the Petting Kraal we were able to approach several deer species.
 

Tom managed to pet the deer without spilling a drop of beer.
 
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
 

 
I’m not sure of the correlation between Wild Animals and SpongeBob, but we donned our 4-D glasses for a really cool motion ride!
 

 
The movie took us on a journey to the bottom of the sea to snatch a wayward pickle. Let me tell you, being sprayed with pickle juice at the finale, well that was the icing on the spongecake!
 
Here is a beautiful gorilla that walked off after a man in the crowd wouldn’t stop barking.
 

 
We viewed these stunning macaws in the aviary.
 

 
We finally arrived at the Journey Into Africa Tour, a 2.5 mile (4 kilometer) tram ride.
 

 
Many wild animals roamed relatively free, while others had secluded habitats.
 

Cheetah was not roaming free.
 
The tram ride ends at Lion Camp. Look at this gorgeous fellow taking a siesta!
 
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After seeing the wild animals, there was only 1 thing left to do: buy souvenirs!
 

Anybody have a carseat for a giraffe?
 
That concludes our San Diego trip. Thanks so much for coming along!

Tags: 3-D, 4-D, Africa, animal, beer, camp, carousel, coot, deer, journey, lion, park, San Diego, spongebob, tour, trip, vacation, wild

Blogging Notes 8

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Jean

It is Monsoon Season in Arizona. All of a sudden, the blue skies turn gray, the storms blow in, and the rain begins to fall. Yesterday morning, Pearl grabbed her paper parasol and headed outdoors.
 

 
When the rain had subsided, she gathered up some leaves and brought them into the house. She placed them on a pillow, and covered them with a tissue to warm them. She’s such a thoughtful child.
 

 

 
Remember a few weeks ago when I got the Vulcan nerve pinch at the hair salon?
 

 
Well, when my head was in the bowl, my hands went numb. That sensation went away, but I was dizzy for a week. I finally broke down and told Tom. He thought perhaps I had pinched a nerve and should see a chiropractor. I made an appointment, told them my story, had x-rays taken, and went for my follow-up visit. The chiropractor informed me that a normal spine curves in 3 places.
 

 
I guess I don’t have my curves in all the right places. My neck is straight and almost bending the opposite way.
 

This isn’t my x-ray, but an example I found on Google Images.
 
This condition can apparently be caused by spending a lot of time in front of a computer (go figure). Now I face a month of chiropractic care with x-rays taken again in August. I’ll be sure to snap a picture next time! Just seeing my bra’s underwire in the x-ray is reason enough!
 

 
Tom and I spent most of this past weekend painting our pantry. I had found a grain bug in my cereal and on a cracker. I will spare you the disgusting photos! We tossed out everything from the pantry that was opened, and wiped the pantry surfaces with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Then Tom had a brilliant idea. Let’s paint the pantry! It was a putrid pink color thanks to the original owners. I don’t know why we hadn’t painted it sooner. Anyway, it is now a crisp, clean white! Tom also suggested we buy a frosted glass door with the word Pantry on it. I think that will look splendid.
 

I even bought air-tight containers for cereal, rice, potato flakes, and bread.
 

 
I’d like to leave you with the whimsical images of Balloon Dogs by artist Jeff Koons. Wouldn’t you love to have one of these?! I know I would!
 

Tags: art, artist, balloon, chiropractor, jeff koons, monsoon, nerve, pantry, pinch

San Diego Vacation – Day 2 – Sea World

Posted on July 15th, 2008 by Jean

After grabbing a bit of breakfast at the hotel, we headed over to Sea World. I had purchased our tickets over the internet, and Tom paid an extra $5.00 for premium parking, so we were literally in the park within 15 minutes of leaving our hotel.
 
There’s a new area in the park called Sesame Street Bay Of Play. There was 1 ride tame enough that the whole family wanted to tackle it: spinning teacups!
 

 
Anheuser-Busch owns Sea World, which means you can visit the famous Clydesdale horses,…
 

 
… the donkey from the 2004 campaign, I Was Born A Donkey,…
 

 
… and drink beer from aluminum bottles.
 

 
Insider Tip: If you see something you like at any of the shops throughout the park, buy it. The Gift Shop at the park’s exit has limited/general items that pale in comparison to the souveniers offered throughout the park.
 
Doesn’t this little fellow look like a baby orca? It’s actually a dolphin!
 

 
Insider Tip: The Commerson’s Dolphins can be found near the Journey To Atlantis water ride. Even if you don’t want to go on the ride, be sure to walk over to view these adorable mammals.
 

Journey To Atlantis
 
The kids tried Cotton Candy for the 1st time.
 

 
I got bug-eyed in the shark tunnel.
 

Never again.
 
Here’s a duck that has spent too much time with the flamingos.
 

Would you believe me if I said she stood that way for hours? 
Here a Bat Ray approaches to be pet.
 

 
By far, the most fun was watching the orcas from the glass-enclosed walkways behind Shamu Stadium. Here I’ve photoshopped 2 pictures together to give you an idea of this prime viewing area.
 

 
From the walkway, we were able to watch the graceful whales interacting with their trainers.
 

 
Whales 3 & 4 were swimming, then being fed handfuls of fish by their trainers. Soon our attention was drawn to the Shamu Stadium audience which was applauding and encouraging splashing from Shamu. Whales 3 & 4 entered the show, giving the audience a thorough soaking!
 

 
Tidbit: Shamu was the name of the first Orca brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. Seven Orcas live in the San Diego park: Corky, Kasatka, Ulises, Orkid, Sumar, Nakai, and Kalia.
 
Although we didn’t take any photos, I have to give the Calypso Bay Smokehouse high marks for the delicious bbq ribs & chicken lunch!
 
One of the low-lights of the day was standing in line to get our pictures taken with Cookie Monster, only to be told he was taking his last picture. The kids and I posed anyway, and I photoshopped him in.
 

 
This was the first vacation that we didn’t bring the kids carseat/strollers. Since they had to do their own walking, they ran out of steam around 3pm. Prior to leaving the park, we visited the orcas one last time. I snapped these odd but somehow intriguing photos of a trainer at work.
 

Another day at the office!
 
I hope you enjoyed seeing this day at Sea World as much as I enjoyed showing you! I’ll try to post our final day of vacation soon.

Tags: orca, San Diego, Sea World, vacation