Summer Vacation Part One

Things finally slowed down enough for David at work so we planned a short little trip to San Antonio. We got an awesome room at the Marriot Plaza. It was right across the street from Hemisphere Park and walking distance to the Riverwalk.

Day one consisted of a 4 hour drive. Thankfully, I had gotten some movies for the girls so they were quite content the entire time. While they were entranced in a Barbie mermaid movie, I read a book aloud to David. We really enjoy quiet times like this.

Once in San Antonio, we went straight to Brackenridge Park and enjoyed a picnic in the shade of the Sunken Gardens.

After lunch, we walked over to the San Antonio Zoo. Let me tell you, there is a LOT of walking to be done at the zoo. Most of it was done in 102 degree heat! We drank gallons of water and made several trips into the air conditioned exhibits. Despite the searing heat and high humidity we had a blast! We spent 6 hours there. The time went by so fast. Before we knew it, it was time to check into our hotel and get dinner.


Once we had washed the zoo off of us, we headed to The Magic Time Machine for dinner. We thought this would be a fun place for the girls. WRONG!!! We were seated in the Christmas room and our waiter was Ace Ventura. Of course, being only 5 & 6, the girls had no clue as to who Ace Ventura was. Katie was freaked out about being in a room decorated like it was Christmas. She kept asking "Why? Why would they do that!" Maddie was afraid of our waiter because he kept making faces and trying to get her to sing "Jingle Bells" with him. Needless to say, dinner was short.

Once back at the hotel, I was expecting to put the girls in bed figuring they were exhausted. (I know I SURE was!) But alas, I was wrong again. They wanted to go swimming. So, we suited up and headed downstairs. David and the girls swam while I soaked in the hot tub. It sure felt good on my tired body!

Maybe I could survive another day!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Where've we been? Sea World!

Last Thursday, we left home at 5:30 am and headed to San Antonio. We arrived at the Sea World gates around 9:30. The girls were so excited.

They both agreed that the first thing they wanted to do was feed the dolphins in Dolphin Cove. I was so surprised that Maddie, my little scaredy cat, would touch the fish much less touch and feed a dolphin. She jumped right in and started handing out fish to the hungry dolphins. Katie couldn't wait her turn. We probably spent 30 minutes feeding and watching these amazing creatures.

Next door was the coral reef aquarium. We could sit and watch the fish for hours. They are so relaxing. Here are a few of my favorites.

Then we headed to see the Shamu show. Unbelievable! I can not believe these HUGE majestic creatures can propel themselves so high out of the water. We were sitting in the splash zone, but managed to avoid getting wet. The people sitting in the row ahead of us were not so lucky!

Next was the Viva! show with the dolphins and Beluga whales. I enjoyed this show. It is kind of like Circque du Soleil with fish. The high divers were breathtaking.

We took a break after that and let the girls play at Shamu's Happy Harbor, a playground and splash park for the kids. They had a blast cooling off. Katie crawled all through the net tunnels and ship. I was a nervous wreck trying to keep an eye on her! That's my monkey girl...

We rounded out the day with the walrus show. This was David's favorite. It was a cute comedy sketch. I missed the end of it because Miss Katie had to run to the potty. All in all, we had a great time at Sea World and will be going back again this year.

The rest of the weekend was spent in San Marcos with David's brother, his family and David's sister and her husband. We were there to see our niece Lindsay graduate from Texas State. Way to go Linny! We are proud of you! It was nice getting to spend some time with everyone.

While in San Marcos, we hit the outlet malls (did you think I would pass that opportunity up!?!) and rode the glass bottom boats at Aqurena Springs. It sure wasn't like the theme park I visited as a kid. I remember seeing the underwater mermaid show, Ralph the swimming pig, and riding the "Sky View" over the lake. Now, the park is owned by Texas State University and they have turned it into a natural preserve and aquaculture study center. They do still operate the glass bottom boats though. We did enjoy taking a ride on the boats. The girls squealed every time we saw a turtle!

After all that fun, we are glad to be home! Although, I'm still trying to catch up on laundry...