We took our long awaited vacation to Southern California for a week (Nov. 10 - Nov. 18). We drove down to Ventura, Ca on Saturday (15 hour drive from Portland) & we stopped at an urgent care clinic in Roseburg, Or for 2 hours to get Emma's eye/cheek looked at. We thought it might be getting infected, so we wanted to have it checked out. The doctor told us it was healing fine, but it made our trip 17+ hours and... that was a very long day. On Sunday, we went to church at a very friendly ward in Ventura. Then we drove down to Van Nuys (near LA) where Don lived for about 3 yrs when he was a kid. He showed us the skating rink that his Dad managed & where they skated. Then he showed us the church he went to. Then we drove down to San Diego. We picked up my mom at the airport in San Diego that night. We're glad that she was able to make it out on Southwest since US Air standby had filled up. We were happy that she was able to come on this trip with us. It was nice spending time & being able to visit with her & she really helped out with the kids
On Monday -- (Day 1 of the fun), we went to Sea World. We were going to go to the San Diego Zoo Day 1 & Sea World Day 2 on a city pass, but the day (2 days before we left) I went to buy the southern Ca. city pass at Costco -- I found out they no longer had it (even though they told me that they always would have it)... so we came up with our own plan & decided to go to Sea World 2 days since a 2 day ticket cost the same as 1-day ticket. Monday was a bit crowded since it was a holiday (but really it wasn't bad). Tuesday there were no crowds at all. The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was sunny and in the 70 - 80's. We forgot sunblock & hats (since we hardly ever see sun this time of year -- we forgot how easy it is to get burnt)... so all the kids got a little sunburned the first day-- mostly Dayton (his poor little face was so red). So that night we went to the store & got sunblock & hats. We also went swimming Monday night. The water in the pool at the hotel was so warm. It was like bath water. It was so relaxing & everybody had a nice time swimming & playing. Tuesday (Day 2), we went to Sea World again. We loved the shows -- Melanie & Courtney loved the Atlantis Water Ride. One thing we noticed at Sea World, every ride/show loves to get you wet.
Sea World!
The Shamu show!
Dayton enjoying the show.
Doing Flips!
The three Shamu's (not their real names - I forgot them)
Riding the Whale
More flips
The Shamu show was great. We watched it & enjoyed it both days.
The gang!
Waiting for the show to start.
The Dolphin Show. He's jumping over a high rope.
Saying "hi" to the audience.
We all enjoyed this dolphin show too. The first time you see it, they fool you. You think one of the spectators in the audience (who is volunteering to help) accidentally falls in the water... come to find out it is one of the trainers, but it freaks you out a bit when you think its a "regular" person.
Sea World had lots of exhibits to look at. They're all very interesting.
Dayton enjoying all the sites from our not so stylish Graco (see Dana & Ryan's site for more info on stylish & hip strollers) :)
Emma's eye is getting a bit better.
We met a lady with a parrot & got to learn more about it.
We enjoyed this show too. The mime was really funny.
The seals (actually they're sea lions) & the sailors were a hoot.
The misbehaving sailor with the funny sea lions.
Pink Flamingos (that were actually orange)
All of us enjoying the exhibits.
Look closely & you can see Nemo & Dori.
Picking up starfish in the tide pools.
Mel enjoying the tide pools
The Pet Rules show was cute too!
Sea World had a play area too, that the kids enjoyed just as much as the rest of the park.
They had fun playing in the sand.
The Clydesdale horses were interesting to see & so HUGE.
