Big Giraffes, Big Love and Big Whales

Well, as you can see....I did bring my laptop to California. So here is how the vacation went.

We were surprised to find ourselves driving through snow and ice! In the mountains outside of San Diego, there was snow covering the hills and ice on the bridges and roads. And Cory was in the drivers seat. It was a little scary for awhile. But it was fun too when we let the kids out to play for a few minutes. Barry threw a snowball at Cory. In the van. Snow all over my van. Boys! I suffered from congestion, sneezing and the drips the whole way in. More on that later.

We got to our hotel to find....not a suite with 2 bedrooms, a living room and a jacuzzi tub....but rather, 2 separate rooms without even a connecting door. But, we were here...so we took the room. It has been nice for Barry and I. But poor Cory hasn't appreciated being stuck in a room with, "those 3 brats" as he said.

Day one in San Diego, we went to the zoo. Which was really cool I loved seeing the baby panda. Willy loved the polar bears as always. The otter was really cool. He apparently liked the color pink, which both of my girls were wearing. He followed them all over the place, chasing their pink sleeves. Cory took Em's pink parasol and got the otter to do tricks. We enjoyed our time at the zoo. Here are a few pics:

When we got back from the zoo though, my runny nose had taken a turn for the worse. And I was sick as a dog. I had a fever and chills. (still do, but not as severe). Which meant that I had to miss the Wild Animal Park the next day. And Barry forgot to take his camera. But they told me the highlights of the day. Willy had to pee on the train ride, and refused to sneak a leak over the side. Which was made worse when the train (actually trucks attatched to each other and on a track) got a flat tire and they had to wait an extra hour. Poor little guy was in pain! But he managed to hold it. They loved the deer in the petting zoo. And Emily was bitten by a duck.

That night, Barry and I watched Big Love on TV. It's about a polygamist family in Utah. I liked it. Not because it was "scintillating" or "outrageous". It wasn't. And I could have done without the attempts to make the family seem like mainstream Mormons. The polygamists aren't LDS anymore than an Episcopalian is Catholic. But the show was obviously written by someone with knowledge of the LDS culture. So there were a lot of LDS idiosyncracies and "in jokes". Which I laughed at. And which again, I want to point out, is not the culture of the polygamists. Here is my only problem with the show. Who is this supposed to be marketed to? With all of the "Mormonisms", I think someone not familiar with the culture isn't going to be interested. And Mormon's aren't going to watch this show....well, except for me and a few others who like to laugh at some of the silliness in the culture. So, who is the show supposed to appeal to? Just seemed a little odd to me. But I was hooked with the first "oh my Heck!". I am even going to get HBO when I get home.

And on to our final excursion in San Diego. We went to Sea World yesterday. I love Sea World. I love watching all of the water creatures. I have always been fascinated by them. We got to the park early, and immediatly ran into friends from home. What are the odds? First place we went to was the dolphin experience. We sat in the soak zone, which was fun.....but not well thought out. We were sticky from the salt water for the rest of the day LOL! And it was COLD!!! (not so smart in my present condition). Shamu wasn't in the big arena due to repairs, but we saw the Shamu show in the smaller area. Always fun. Lunch was a mere $80 for the whole family. And no, it wasn't lobster. Daisy had a hot dog for pity's sake. Cory hung out in the arcade. He was totally BORED! Poor Cory! And here are more pics:

And now we are going home. As soon as I can get everyone packed up. And I am going to sleep the whole way home. Happy St. Patrick's Day!