This past weekend, our family went on a little getaway to visit my 2nd cousin-once removed (aka, my mom's 2nd cousin) and enjoy SeaWorld. The idea for this trip began when I registered for my free educator SeaWorld pass and 3 extra free tickets. My cousins had invited us to come stay with them, so we decided to put the two together and enjoy a weekend in San Diego.
For starters, Rudy worked a half-day on Friday and we hopped in the car during the early afternoon in order to beat the traffic. We enjoyed the coastal drive down and even though the "road trip" was only 1.5 hours long...we still worked a rest stop and some special snacks.
This rest area was beautiful. Amidst the view of the ocean, grassy picnic table area and fun-looking trees, the boys ran their wiggles out.
Special treats are what road trips are made of. :)
I didn't get a shot of the ocean view from my cousins's rooftop or living room balcony area, but the scene was spectacular. Rudy was overwhelmed (and that's saying something!). Rudy couldn't help but test out a lil bit of the hills that were just too good for skating.
Right away we explored a park near their home which sits just off the water. The view of downtown San Diego was beautiful.
If I have it right, these kids are 3rd cousins once removed...
I love how "in the moment" this shot is of the boys and Lucille and Naomi in the background. Lots of laughter all weekend long. :)
These two became friends quickly.
Early the next morning, after checking out the waves from their upstairs balcony (Rudy loved that part!) the men strapped on some boards and went for a surf.
Pancake breakfast
We're finally here at SeaWorld! Kyle had been asking to go for quite a while and I hadn't been since I was a little girl. My cousins had an extra parking pass for us, so our parking was taken care of as well. The forecast was for rain but it stayed sunny and dry the entire time we were there. Because of the forecast, crowds were a minimum and it was so pleasant to not stand in line for anything!!
There was so much to do but it wasn't overwhelming like other parks are. Maybe that had something to do with the lack of crowds? Gavie's favorite thing was going on these "flying fish." We went again and again. :)
Also a hit was this starfish/clam thing... if you know Disneyland, think spinning tea cups! (My least favorite, but how can you say no to your child?!)
Precious
The play area for kids was amazing and we could have spent half the day there.
Gavie loved this bounce area.
Kyle was so happy to have won this dolphin after "beating" Rudy in a game.
Back on the flying fish! So fun to have Daddy at a theme park with us! (He generally avoids these types of things.)
We learned a lot about dolphins at this exhibit.
It was super cool to watch the dolphins swim by.
Sting Rays
While our cousins watched the boys, Ru and I got to ride on a really fun roller coaster.
Then, we headed to see Shamu. There is much controversy that surrounds this show, and SeaWorld in general, and so it was both amazing and saddening to watch these beautiful creatures. I'm not going to go into it here on the blog but I'm glad that this show in particular will cease to exist.
The boys loved the part where the whales when through the sprinklers like going through a car wash.
Next up were the rapids. Lucille and I watched with our youngest kids who didn't meet the height requirement. Good thing, cause the boys got drenched head to toe!!
Turkey leg snack time. (They just couldn't help themselves!)
Then we took a ride on the buckets up and over part of the bay.
Kyle LOVES bucket rides. :)
Family Togetherness :)
This comedy otter show had a tiny little Asian otter that looked like a "Jumpy Squirrel" which is Gavin's favorite thing! He cracked up every time the "squirrel" came out.
Dancing to "Gangnam Style" which Gavie says is, "Gavin-style."
Shark Exhibit was amazing, especially from the underground tube that had sharks swimming all around you and overhead.
The boys then really wanted to go on this ride to check out the view.
After this, we called it a day and picked up some pizza and put the kids to bed!
The next morning, we celebrated Rudy's birthday. :)
Rudy and Kyle explored the backyard in a way that only these boys do. :)
This structure of course became more elaborately put together but this is the only picture I got of it.
Ru and I took out their tandem bike for a spin around the neighborhood.
While the kids watched T.V. for the first time all weekend...ahhh...quiet in the house!! ;)
We said our good-byes and came home to continue celebrating Rudy's birthday. More on that to come.
We are so grateful to our cousins for making this weekend such a fun and memorable one! We enjoyed every single part of it!
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