eternally chaotic

Sea World here we come!!!  The kids were very excited to be headed out to their adventure “under the sea”.  The drive was about one hour and they kept themselves busy doing what all twenty-first century kids do in the car – watch movies and play games.

One of the first attractions in the gate was hands on feeding sting rays circling a huge pond.  They were pretty tame and easy to rub your hands over or let them suction your hand looking for food.  The boys jumped right in – they probably would have were it okay to do so – instead they coated themselves in icky slime and smell leaning over the wall trying to get their hands down into the water.  The girls weren’t so enthusiastic about the thought of some winged creature swimming in laps licking their fingers so for the most part they watched.  We purchased a few trays of shrimp so that they could each get the opportunity to feed one.  It was a pretty neat site.  The boys teased the rays up and got them to pop out of the water a little but so that we could see their suction mouths – pretty cool to see from the top down.  The girls wouldn’t have anything to do with offering food so I held each one in turn and dangled their shrimp for them, trying to get the rays to come up out of the water so we could all get better looks at them.

Soon after the sting rays we found ourselves at the manatee rescue.  This was a huge attraction a massive tank for holding the manatee in what look like a reproduction of a natural habitat.  Most of them seemed to have been rescued from some form of injury or another, in particular propeller strikes.  I had never seen a manatee before and this attraction was pretty neat.  The kids thought so as well though for different reason – in particular interest, and in a most kiddy way, was the focus on certain bodily excretions that we all must at some point partake.  It was thus noted that Fatty, the kindly nickname offered one of the manatees doing laps in front of us, was not only bulbous, but also, very obviously, had to poop.  We actually spent quite a bit of time watching these guys swim in circles away from us and then back towards, each time rubbing their massive undersides on the glass before swimming away again, a long repetitive loop – and even then not that they were in any way more interesting than anything else we had seen yet, but the room we were watching them from was air conditioned.

The dolphin show was up next – the day was flying by – it was by far my favorite thing we saw at the park.  My previous experience with dolphin shows is limited to that of the Indianapolis Zoo, and while not bad, is not in the same category as that of Sea World.  All of us were in amazement at the flips, spins, and twirls.  After the first bit of the show I thought it was over.  A few of the dolphins came out, swam around, jump in the air a few times and then went to get some treats.  They did this a few more times … then the real show started.  Acrobats. Divers. Singers. Costumed performers. Trained Parrots (and other birds). Whales. And of course Dolphins.  All of these together told a story, narrated by in song by one of the performers.  There were good guys, bad guys, and damsels in distress.  Each played their part in a massive production.  Each act incorporated various actors and always some of the dolphins.  There were a few bits that really caught our attention – at one point one of the trainers (in costume mind you) dove under the water and seconds later came exploding up out of the water, riding on the tip of the dolphins nose, up into the air fifteen feet or more before falling back down in a splash.  Another trainer jumped in with a pair of dolphins, each with what look like a lease around its nose, stood on their backs and was pulled around the pool like a rider standing on a pair of horses – truly amazing and graceful, all the while the trainer was waving at the crowd while we clapped and cheered them along.  The finale was incredible.  There was so much going on that it was hard to keep track of let alone watch it all play out.  My favorite part of the end was the quad of dolphins swimming in formation across the length of the pool with most of their bodies out of the water.  Truly an incredibly amazing show.

The dolphin show was a hard act to follow for anything left in the park, except maybe the Shamu show later.  We headed in to see the penguins.  Not only was it once again inside and air conditioned but there were a large number of the tuxedos either running around, swimming or standing in packs to stay warm (note that it was one hundred plus for us and it was snowing for them).  Isaac was fascinated by the Emperor Penguins which were all huddled together keeping warm.

The Sea Lions were our next stop.  The kids wanted to throw them some shrimp and get them to bark and sing for us.  Each of them tried to get the shrimp across ditch and into the gapping maw of the nearest one but most of the food landed short and was picked up quickly by the cranes who were hovering nearby waiting for you to take your guard down or flying in holding patterns above looking for an errant throw – (with a coordinated effort the Sea Lions wouldn’t have had a chance).

At some point in the day we all decided we should eat.  We had ample snacks and water in the backpack but a more nutritious meal was needed – well that was the thought anyway.  The food sadly was my only disappointment with Sea World. Their high end, high dollar places might have been fantastic but us like many others with large families weren’t up for the prices.  We settled for one of a la carte cafes figuring we could get a mix of what the kids wanted, what we wanted and what we all needed.  In the end we ended up with horrible hot dogs for the kids, cold fries (even after taking them back for more), weird tasting barbeque chicken and drinks.  Oh well – we scarfed it down and moved on – plus we were in a rush to see Shamu.

Shamu it was.  Our show started shortly after we finished lunch and we had to haul tail across the park to make it in time.  I want to be condescending and say we should have ordered more food and taken a leisurely stroll across the docks only to arrive at the show just after it had ended.  That tone however, would not let me share my (our) dissatisfaction with what the Shamu show has transformed into.  Now I must say that this show had a lot of hype behind it for not only those of us that are newcomers to the park but also Sea World veterans coming back time and again to see the daring trainers perform stunning feats with the massive killer whales.  I am not sure what the show used to be like but now it is limited to a pair of whales swimming in laps around their tank jumping up into the air.  On occasion they would also swim up to the trainer and take some fish as a reward.  It appeared (and we later confirmed) that the trainers are no longer allowed to be in the water with the whales and the show is limited because of that.  Now I can say that a whale makes a huge splash of water when it lands and the first twenty rows of spectators are not safe from being soaked.  If the splash didn’t get them the whales would swim slowly along the edge of the tank and flip water out into the crowd with large strokes of their tails.

The cold of the artic was next.  I think this was supposed to be a ride but wasn’t much more than a movie about the endangered wildlife in the artic.  Once it was over there was plenty to see including several walruses that must have been talking to the manatees and loved swim in repeating circles around the glass rubbing its belly as it passed.  Our favorites here though were the beluga whales.  There were several of them in the tank but one in particular was actively swimming around and kept passing right in front of the kids.  It would slow or sometimes stop and look right at all of us for a minute before swimming another lap.

After a tour of the artic we took a short break in a tunnel leading back to civilization and the CotC decided it was time to become part of the exhibit.  They pulled out their claws, bared their teeth and started climbing all over the rocks and walls perching here and there to stare at the passing crowd and let out feral growls so that all those who might pass knew this was their territory.  At one point Violet decided that Mommy Carol was her prey and chanced her around a rock before digging into her with baby sharp teeth.

It was getting late once we left the bitter cold of the artic and we were running out of exhibits that would hold everyone’s attention so we headed toward the rides figuring this was a great way to end the day and burn off any remaining shred of energy (we were looking for a relaxing and quite ride home).  First stop was the kids’ area.  The older three took a spin on the hurler express…I mean scrambler.  They got in all excited and had their “egg” humming in circles before the ride even began.  The spinning didn’t stop until long after the ride was over and the attendant came over to let them out – my stomach turns just thinking about it – ugh.

The next ride we didn’t think we were going to be able to get on, at least not with Violet, but she was able to make it by about one inch (maybe less).  It was a kids roller coaster – The Shamu Express (i think it was more entertaining than its namesake).  Everyone was excited.  Isaac wanted to ride alone, Violet was with me, Piper and Jacob sat together, and Carol was left holding the bag – (no literally she held the bag…they wouldn’t let me take the backpack on the ride – thank you Love!)  The coaster was fun and quick but not so smooth.  The CotC didn’t seem to mind though.  Violet laughed and screamed the whole time, Isaac had his hands in the air looking for more of a thrill and Piper and Jacob held on tight.  It was a blast though getting to do it with Violet (granted I thought it was her first but Gramps got the honors a few weeks prior) and seeing her eat it up and want more was awesome.

Before leaving the kids section we spent some time in “the cage” – (I am sure it had a real name but I am calling it what it felt like).  We let the kids go in and run around, in the end they ended up with Carol helping Violet through.  The thing was amazing though (if not crowded for an adult male sporting a full backpack) and consisted of three stories of interconnecting tunnels and nets.  Lots of climbing and crawling but it was a blast, although I think the only ones tired after were the two of us.  The kids were nothing but thirsty and once fueled up they were ready to find something else.  We were even able to get refreshments from a concession that was closing at no cost – a savings of three bucks a glass for water.

The last ride of the night, and it was night now, was the Atlantis.  We weren’t’ able to all go at once so we split it up and Carol and Isaac took one boat and later Piper and I took another (Violet was too small and Jacob wasn’t interested).  The ride was weird.  We spent lots of time slowly climbing up and up inside this pyramid getting spooked by various medieval characters, in particular an eerie rendition of Medusa that was certainly to be give little ones nightmares, only to turn a misty corner and whoosh down a pitch black slope into a pool of freezing cold water.  The second drop was the one that took your stomach though, it took you back outside and down the entire height of the pyramid into a pool before making its way back in.  A few more drops, small this time, and we were done.  I thought Piper was going to be scared to death but surprisingly she only covered her ears when the noise was too much (blood curdling screaming).  She even seemed to enjoy the big drop and getting wet.  We all got wet – very wet.

All the rides were done so we made a trip through the gift store for the kiddos (deal was that they could get a gift at the end of the day if they didn’t bug us during the day – worked well being that most of the attractions ended with a walk through a store) and we were headed home.  There was one moment on the ride home, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where it started raining.  Or, well, that was what we thought.  Turns out that there were so many bugs hitting the car that it literally looked and sounded like rain – granted turning on the windshield wipers had the opposite effect than had it been rain.  This barrage of insect massacre went on for about five minutes before we were free but the van was now in need of a serious scrubbing.

Before long we were on open highway.  The CotC had mostly fallen out, even Violet who never ever sleeps in the car – (I guess twelve straight hours of walking around in one hundred plus, high humidity temperatures is what it takes to wear her out.)  Jacob was tired but lost in a movie and refusing to close his eyes.  Seeing they were all in some form of la la land, we plugged in the iPod, turned up the volume and the rest of the trip slipped away into that little place between peace and harmony.

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4. Reading Rewarded Rightly Riding Roller Coasters
5. Leisurely Labor Day