We left home Thursday night, and let me tell you, Thursday was a verrrrrrry long day with the kids. :) I finally got everyone packed, my mom came over, Cody made it home, and we were off. We hadn't even made it to Houston yet and Haleigh must have asked "how much longer?" at least 5 times. This was not looking promising for her! At this point I was really hoping she was going to make it to see Sea World! Haha!
We finally arrive at the Holiday Inn Northwest/SeaWorld and get checked in. We got two rooms. One for the girls and my mom, and the other for us and Caden. The rooms were awesome. Very clean and new. I was majorly impressed, and so were the girls. This was so exciting for them because this was their first time to stay in a hotel. Alex has stayed in hotels, but Haleigh and Kendall have not. Alex had pumped them up about the little shampoo and soaps that they "give" you.
We got up at a decent time on Friday morning, about 8:45am, got dressed and headed down for breakfast. We ate at the hotel breakfast buffet (I don't advise that) and headed to Sea World. I love that Sea World doesn't open until 10:00am. It really takes the pressure off about getting too early of a start.
We chose to drive instead of taking the hotel shuttle. I would feel slightly guilty about taking their shuttle and us taking up the entire thing. Our family and our accessories wouldn't leave room for anyone else! That's pretty bad.....but it's true. Our hotel was literally 5 minutes from Sea World so it was not a big deal.
As we are trying to figure out which line to get in for our tickets we learn that we don't have to stand in a line, AND that we have season passes! Yay!! Way to go Cody! Once we are in we make our first stop at the Beluga show. I think nearly every seat was in a "splash zone". I can appreciate that during the scorching hot summer but on a morning when it's nice out, not so much. I was just fine without being wet. Thank goodness we only ended up getting only minor sprinkles during the pre-show entertainment. The show itself was so amazing. It was a circque-du-soleil meets water, with parrots and water ballet. So awesome...and the kids seemed to stay entertained for about 95% of it too!
Okay, so you know how there has to be that one incident on a family vacation that just ruins the perfect trip?! Well, it was me. As we were leaving the show and getting the stroller (you have to leave them outside the stadium) I tried to release the break with my flip-flop. Snap!! That piece that goes between your toes and makes the flip flop function completely broke. I no longer had a shoe. I didn't fret because after all, we were at Sea World. There were 500 gift shops and they were bound to have flip flops!! I was right, the closest store was about 25 feet from the incident and they had flip-flops. Score!! :)
After the show and the shoe incident, we headed to the log ride. The wait was an hour. Holy cow. That is where improvement needs to made on our next trip. We will be purchasing the "quick que" tickets. They are an extra $20/person but well worth it. Kendall and I rode together, and Cody took the other two. The girls loved it, but Alex and Kendall said they didn't want to ride again!
We walked around for a little bit longer and it got very warm. Caden was getting tired of being toted. He was ready to get back to the hotel and run around. My mom was too! So, it was at that point we decided to split up. My mom took Caden, Kendall and Alex to the hotel. They ordered room service and hung out.
Cody, Haleigh and I stayed. I really wanted to ride some more rides. Haleigh was completely ready and willing to ride the Steel Eel with me but she was too short. Cody wouldn't. He's no fun!! :) The only other ride we could all ride was the Journey to Atlantis. It is very much the same as the old Tidal Wave as Astroworld. It did have a few tweaks. At one point it sent you down a few minor dips backwards. Then you were turned around and dropped down the big slope. That wait was also over an hour, but leave it to Haleigh to meet a friend in line. A little girl the same age was behind us, and they quickly became each other's entertainment. We ended up getting to sit in the front row. I was a little concerned about Haleigh but as soon as it was over she asked "can we ride it again?". I think she liked it!
Caden rode most of the day in his preferred mode of transportation: in his backpack on Daddy's back. He loves it so much and it makes him so happy I just had to share. Actually, he rode there most of the trip. This backpack was so awesome for the Riverwalk. I would not have wanted to push a stroller through there!
Saturday we spent the day at the Riverwalk. We rode the Riverboat and ate. This wasn't as exciting as Sea World but I think the girls enjoyed themselves. The weather was so pretty, couldn't have asked for a better day.
All in all in was a great trip. I hope we get to go back soon.
