ELE - 6yr old Adrenaline Junkie

Sea World has a few roller coasters and a waterpark in addition to all the animal exhibits. We offered the kids a chance to ride the Steel Eel, A basic roller coaster with a pretty good drop on the first hill. Jeff, MH and ELE decided to ride it. I was sure that MH and Jeff would enjoy it, but I was a little apprehensive about ELE. In fact another mom got off the ride just before ELE got on and warned me that ELE might not ever forgive me for talking her into going on the ride. As soon as the ride was over, Ethan and I went around to the ride exit. ELE came off moaning, holding her head and her stomach. I asked her how the ride was and she said “oh, I’m dizzy and my stomach is all wobbly and I want to do it again!” which of course made me laugh because of the drama.

Later we headed to the water park because the kids had never been. We tried out the lazy river, the wave pool and then decided to go on the water slides. It was quite a hike up the stairs. When our turn came, I was going to go first, then the kids and Jeff last. That way I would be there at the end to greet them, and Jeff could keep track of them up top. At the top there were 4 choices. I picked the next open one. ELE decided to go down the same one I chose. So off I went. I didn’t realize that this water slide was a PITCH BLACK VORTEX OF DOOM! Ok maybe it wasn’t that bad, but I found it unnerving to be zipping down a tunnel and not able to see at all where I was going or which way the next turn was. There were a couple of drops where I left the tube. About halfway down, I thought, “Oh no ELE’s not going to like this!” Ele doesn’t like the dark, or being alone, or surprises really. I figured this was a bad combination. At the bottom I got out of the pool and waited for ELE. She was a little longer coming down than I thought. Then finally, here she came, screaming and laughing and begging to do it again. Turns out, the reason that she took so long was that she fell out of the inner tube and had to climb back in. After Jeff, MH and Ethan all made it down to the bottom it was time to go home. Naturally the kids were unhappy about this, but that is all in a day’s fun.

I believe that ELE will have a fabulous time at Disney Land later this year. I hope Uncle Chris can keep up with her.

I saw the sea (world)

I have been to Sea World 3 times. The 1st time was in Orlando when I was young. I don't remember a lot about it, but I do remember that my parents didn't want us to sit in the "splash zone." Probably because they didn't want a bunch of stinky drippy kids in the car. Jeff & I also went Sea World on our honeymoon. Again, we didn't sit in the "splash zone." We did go to the dolphin pool, but the dolphins just swam around and ignored all the people.

Recently, we had a chance to take our children to Sea World. I had our plan for the day all laid out. I decided that now it was my chance to decide what the family would do (basically to do what I wanted to do and everyone else should just hush up and go along with it.)

After a little research we (I) decided that first thing we would feed the dolphins. I made ELE and Ethan (MH was off with the girl scouts) stand in a long line in the hot sun to wait for the dolphin feeding time. You would have thought I was torturing them. ELE whined and complained because the was SOOO hot. "I'm BURNING" she repeated. Ethan was less whiny but he didn't want to wait either. I told them to stop complaining and learn to like it.

Finally it was our turn. We paid our $16 for 9 tiny little fish, listened to the talk on how to feed and where it is ok to touch the dolphins, and finally it was our turn. It was a most amazing experience. I finally got to pet a dolphin. It was worth the heat, the sweat, the $16, and even worth touching dead fish. I thought that if I smiled any wider my face might split clean in two.

After visiting the sharks and the coral reef exhibit we met up with the girl scouts and made a plan for the afternoon. I was determined to sit really close at One Ocean (the Shamu show) in order to be splashed and hopefully totally soaked. Jeff stayed up high in the stadium to hold our stuff and take pictures. I pretty much dragged my kids down to the third row where the seats were still wet from the show 3 hours earlier. I explained that this was an experience I had wanted for my whole life. ELE was ready: she wanted to get "soaking" to replace the "burning." As the show progressed we got splashed just a little. It was tantalizing really and I was preparing myself for another disappointment at Sea World. ELE kicked the whining up a notch and Ethan got in on the "I'm hot. Why won't they splash us?" action. I told them to be patient and enjoy the show. It's not often that West Texas kids get to see whales. Finally almost at the end of the show we got splashed 6 TIMES!! I had a mouth and eyes full of very cold salt water and was loving every minute of it. MH was laughing and smiling and wanting more. . . Ethan and ELE were hiding tornado drill style under the bleachers. Ethan was practically screaming "No more! No more" and ELE screamed/cried "I want to go to Daddy." I made them sit up and told them to have fun (that's an order). We certainly weren't hot anymore. I told them, "I've wanted to do this my whole life. You are going to sit here in the Splash Zone and ENJOY IT!" Way to impose my dreams onto my kids. I think maybe ELE is traumatized forever.