We met up Saturday afternoon, all arriving within minutes of each other. After checking in to the rooms, we wandered over to the park and thrilled the kids by renting paddle boats. The Fuciles took one boat, while Chad and Ken paddled Joseph and I around. Sue watched from the shore, taking pictures as we waved like maniacs.When we first showed up at the rental office, we briefly discussed whether or not to go for an hour or a half hour. I'm so glad we decided on the shorter amount of time. A half hour was all the kids (and peddling adults) could take.
After disembarking, half went to go get the cars while the other half walked around the lake to the Dennis the Menace playground. The kids ran around like crazy people while the adults followed. We were going to follow up park madness with dinner at Bubba Gump's but Sophia wasn't feeling well, so we fended for ourselves.The next morning, we opened the connecting door between the rooms and Cousinly Craziness continued. We tried, in vain, to convince Matt and Nicole that Joseph is really a pretty mellow kid, but they've only seen him tearing around the room yelling and laughing and jumping and basically acting like a wild child.
Sue wasn't feeling well that morning (we were a bit of a family of sickies) so she and Ken stayed behind while the rest of us hit up the aquarium. It was a beautifully sunny day - not too warm, not too cool. The kids loved all the exhibits. Joseph was especially excited by the hammerhead sharks.Side note: We skipped the Terrible Twos but are starting early with the Terrible Threes. Right now, it's all about independence - "I can do it!", upsets when things don't go his way and the occasional melt-down. Nicole assures me that part of it is Joseph adjusting to the changes having a little sister has already brought on his little world. ("No, honey. Mommy can't pick you up. You'll have to walk." "Be careful of the tummy, baby.") Regardless, there were a few more moments of "Oh Lord" than there were last year.
Overall, the aquarium was fun and fast and educational.
After the aquarium, we headed back to the rooms for much-needed naps, followed by dinner at Buppa Gumps. What is it about being pregnant that makes me want to take pictures of food? Needless to say, my salad was amazingly yummy. Bubba Gump's provides me with a bit of a logistic challenge. I'm allergic to shrimp to the point that the last time I came into contact with cross-contamination (someone touched shrimp and then something I ate), I swelled up like a balloon and had difficulty breathing. God forbid I ever accidentally eat something cooked with shrimp or containing shrimp. The Pear Berry Salad is one of the few dishes that I know, beyond the shadow
of a doubt, doesn't contain shrimp or shrimp parts.The kids chowed through their meals. (This place is one of the best when it comes to kids' meals.) They spent the rest of our mealtime looking out at boats, otters and more boats. We finished the evening by buying The Most Expensive Candy in the World. (Seriously...the candy store had baskets for you to put your bulk candy in. You paid per pound, but no where, NO where in the store does it say that the price is $12.97/pound.)
We ended the evening with a walk from our hotel to Old Fisherman's Wharf. Matt volunteered to stay behind with the kiddos which meant that we were able to take walk that was brisk enough to walk off our dinners (and the ice cream I stopped for on the Wharf).
Monday we went back to the aquarium to see the new sea horse exhibit. I know everyone loves sea horses, but they actually freak me out a bit. About the fifth display in, I snapped a picture and realized that they're very, very creepy little creatures. And that was before I saw the video of a daddy seahorse giving birth.
The sea dragons were odd looking, but very cool little creatures.
Joseph's been watching The Little Mermaid too much.
Don't worry...he was just being silly.
We split up after the aquarium with us staying for lunch at a nearby deli while everyone else headed home. We ate our lunch, walked around a bit and then went home. Tired, exhausted, weary but with a lot of great memories.
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