From Here to San Diego

             

On Tuesday we took off for Sea world.  It was a beautiful day despite predictions of rain. We didn’t get a drop. As you can see by the pictures I have attached, we had a wonderful time. We got to see 3 shows. First we saw The Pet Show with dogs, cats, some birds and a couple of pigs. It was wonderful. The girls got their picture taken with a Clydesdale horse.

Then we shopped and went to see the Shamu Show. I had forgotten how magnificent killer whales could be. There were lots of great "soakings" as Shamu spit and splashed water into the audience. Some weren’t ready for that much water and ran to higher ground. Rob and I were safe about 20 rows up.

Lunch was an all-you-can-eat barbecue which we enjoyed thoroughly. Rob filled his plate to the brim and ate it all! The girls had all the food and desserts their bodies could stand and I had some chicken, sausage and good salads.

After the Shamu Show, we got separated from Lupe and Andrea. With our hearts in our throats, we sent Kayla back into the stadium twice to look for them. The last time, she came back with a worker who took us to Lost & Found, where we reported them missing. I was nearly in tears as the call went out to every employee of the park. I was panicked, but made a call to our friend Ruth and asked her to pray for us. Not three minutes after I made the call for prayer, Rob saw the girls wandering in the area near where we were. When I finally had my arms around them, I cried with relief.

Next stop for the girls was in a water play area where they could swim and slide and play. While they did that Rob and I took the old folk’s ride to the top of the park and rode the sky ride for a panorama of the local area. We thought it was great, but the kids on the ride (not ours) classed it as BORING. Leaving the rides, we found three drowned rats shivering and asking for the backpack so they could change clothes. Only thing . . . they didn’t pack spare clothes for Lupe. They went to get changed while we scoured the shops for sweats and a sweatshirt to put on our girl. Luckily, we found just what she needed.

To end the day, the girls went to the 4-D Haunted House while we rode up front to get the pictures taken as we entered the park. They turned out great, and as you can see above, we are presenting our first family picture for your perusal.

Ruthie had supper prepared for us when we got home. We were tired but fulfilled after a great day at Sea World.

Wednesday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast with Ruth and family and set our for San Diego Harbor. It has been a long time since I’ve been on the waterfront there. In the late 80's, I rode my bicycle there, training for the R.A.G.B.R.A.I. That is a bicycle ride across the state of Iowa which is sponsored by the Register Newspaper. But that’s another story . . . .

We found a parking place right away and offloaded right onto the waterfront. Our first stop was to watch a street magician. He was funny and did some wonderful tricks. Lupe watched in awe as things disappeared and reappeared. He told us he was from New Orleans, and that he wasn’t going back anytime soon. I can’t say I blame him.

We continued our trek down the waterfront and looked at the Navy ships there as well as the ferry that will take you over to Coronado Island. We turned around, thinking we would go into the maritime museum, but the smell of freshly cooked fish overwhelmed us and we put thoughts of eating our packed lunch right out the window. It was a good meal. Rob had oysters on the half shell, Lope fried chicken, Andrea shrimp and crab cocktail, Kayla had chowder and I had a shrimp basket. Before we left the restaurant, Kayla felt sick to her stomach. Walking along, Lupe began to say her tummy hurt. Swell. We didn’t go into the museum, rather took pictures of the 3-masted sailing ships and purchased a couple of trinkets from the gift shop.

We next stopped in Balboa Park to go to the Museum of Natural History. By this time, I was feeling a bit sick myself. We still can’t explain it, Rob ate the leftovers of our food and he didn’t have any ill effects. Maybe that’s because he has a cast-iron stomach. Or we girls are just too delicate for words.

The museum was wonderful the girls got to explore 3 levels of natural history and see a movie about the Vikings. They got bored toward the end of the movie, but Rob and I found it very interesting. We left after the movie because I was very sick to mystomach.

Back at Ruth’s we shared the adventures of the day, everyone but me scarfing down our lunch sandwiches. I went to bed and the girls watched DVD’s with Ed & Ruth. Kayla got two new aunts and an uncle, as did Lupe. Judy and Kayla formed a bond that will be there forever. It was wonderful time of visiting and seeing new things.

Guys, we had a wonderful time!  We felt like we had gone home when we arrived at Ruth n' Ed's house.  The Lord had his hand in all of it.  On the way home, we got to stop and visit with our daughter-in-law Dixie and grandkids Keri and Doug.  Keri will be 18 at the end of the month and both she and Doug are graduating from high school this year.  Isn't God good?

Blessings to you out there in J-Land and special prayers for Cliff and Donna and John and Krissy who have medical trials right now.