Well, it seems that seeing P driving the Volvo loaner was enough to motivate JoEL to get things going. The service guy called about 4:30 to let me know my car is ready, so first thing in the morning, I’ll be saying farewell to my friend, the loaner.
Au revoir sweet friend. I will miss you and your cool stereo that scrolls the name of the song and artist that are currently on the radio. Not to mention your thoughtfulness in automatically muting the radio every time I got on my cell phone. I feel like we really connected over the last 8 days. God speed.
And in other non-automotive news.
On Saturday afternoon, someone must have slipped something into my Diet Coke because all of a sudden I could hear my voice saying, “Caroline, how about we go to Sea World on Monday? Wouldn’t that be fun? Just you and Mama at Sea World?”
What? Who is this person with the boundless enthusiasm for taking a 3 year old to an aquatic themed amusement park all by herself?
Alas, on Sunday, when I woke with a clearer head, it was too late to back out because the child? Oh, you better believe she was going to Sea World on Monday. Going to Sea World to see SHAMU! AND THE FLYING MONKEY PEOPLE! AND THE SQUIDS AND THE OCTOPI! (except she didn’t really say Octopi, she’s only 3 1/2 people. Give her a break on the plurals)
Part of my Sea World compulsion is due to the fact that we have season passes. We bought season passes last summer and then upgraded them in the fall, to include this summer, for just $35.00. And heaven knows I can’t pass up a bargain. The problem is I have been under serious, self-imposed pressure to GET TO SEA WORLD immediately so that we can get our $70.00 worth.
Oh yes, we’re going to go so many times this summer that we will be completely sticking it to the man and his killer whale. And seeing as how it’s already mid-June, we needed to get going on my master plan to outwit and outlast Sea World, nevermind that they stay open through December…it’s now or never.
So, Monday morning. We woke up and ate a breakfast of homemade waffles to sustain us in our journey to the other side of town. I packed every bottle of sunscreen we own, multiple towels, a case of bottled water (because at the park they charge $52.00 per bottle), a few snacks, and our bathing suits. I would realize later it was a strategic error to not just wear our swimsuits, but at 9:00 a.m. I was innocent and naive and not aware this was a tactical mistake.
However, at 10:45 a.m. as we were changing into our swimsuits in the restroom at The Lost Lagoon and Caroline kept opening the door and exposing me to the free world, I realized I should have suited up at home and saved myself and the eyes of some poor, unwitting souls the sight of my white behind.
As soon as we got to Sea World, Caroline informed me she didn’t want to see Shamu or the dolphins or anything. And really, who goes to Sea World to see Shamu? That’s so last year. Instead, she wanted to go to Shamu’s Happy Harbor and ride the Shamu Coaster, the Penguin Pete ferris wheel and play some arcade games.
And look!
She won a Nicole Richie doll!
Oh, I kid because of the big head and the small body. This is actually a monkey that was immediately christened, appropriately enough, Silly. We won Silly about 10 minutes into our day at Sea World and got to haul him around for the rest of the day, along with the kitchen sink we packed. It was a treat.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent at The Lost Lagoon, which is the water park section. We had so much fun in the wave pool and I loved hearing Caroline laugh hysterically everytime a wave knocked her over. She is fearless. Then, we stopped for lunch at Castaway Cafe and she declared that she would, indeed, like to see Shamu. I looked at my schedule and realized the only way to make that happen was to trek to the other side of the park in about 10 minutes, so I loaded Caroline, Silly, and our bag ‘o stuff into the stroller and took off at breakneck speed. In a swimsuit. With a coverup (thank heaven for small mercies). And flip-flops.
We got there just in time, and Caroline insisted she wanted to sit right up front so that Shamu could splash us. We sat down so low that we had a perfect view of the trainers and the various Shamus swimming underwater. Caroline kept asking, “When is he gonna splash Mama? When is he gonna splash?”
Here she is, waiting for the splash.
And finally, he splashed.
You know, the trivia they showed on the big screen prior to the show, mentioned that Shamu’s water is 52 degrees. In theory, after a 35 mile sweaty hike while pushing a stroller, 52 degrees doesn’t sound too cold. But oh, when he finally splashed, we didn’t just get splashed, we were soaked in 52 degree, freezing cold, saltwater. Caroline started crying and wanted to leave, so we headed out. We made one stop for cotton candy and then got in the loaner car and drove home.
Later that night, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. She said, “Oh! I LOVED getting splashed by Shamu”. She obviously subscribes to her mama’s theory of that which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. I mean, after all, I’m already talking about our next trip to Sea World.