That was wild
The manatees were the next on our visiting agenda so we all trundle off to their little bit of the park. We have a look at them from above the water outside, before parking the buggies and heading in and down. They’ve done away with the pre-show movie here too and you just go straight through to the underwater area. Well we spent ages in here. The area was virtually empty as people just came in and walked on through. Us grown-ups sat on the little step while the 3 children had a run/crawl around on the big, carpeted area. Steven and Harry loved getting really close up to the glass/Perspex/whatever and watching the animals. It was such a peaceful environment to be in; you wouldn’t have believed we were in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a theme park. We sat for ages just watching the manatees drift too and fro, and even the children sensed the atmosphere and sat for a while just watching. It was a wonderful half hour we spent sitting in there and I recommend it to anyone.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...h/DCP_1596.jpg
Now, as we eventually exit the manatee exhibit we come up the path and I see a squirrel scampering along with an M & M between its front paws. I point it out to the others and we all have a little giggle at it. A few paces along and we spot a small pile of M & Ms on the pathway. As we round the corner to recover our buggies there’s a crowd of people laughing and pointing – at the group of squirrels crowded round Steven’s buggy! Then I remember that Adrian had bought a large bag of M & Ms along for emergency snacking purposes and they were of the peanut variety and they were in the basket underneath the buggy. And here was a group of squirrels who’d sniffed them out, neatly bitten one corner off of the packet, and helped themselves in our absence. It was wicked funny and I wish we’d been there to catch the little thieves with our cameras but they were far too quick for us. :laugh:
We’ve got enough time left to catch the last Sealion and Otter show of the day so we head to the stadium, making sure we get there in plenty of time so that we are happily seated and out of the way of trouble by the time the mime arrives to do his pre-show. As usual he has us all in stitches with his…well I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t been but just make sure you get there at least 15 minutes early to catch his act.
For some strange reason the Sealion and Otter show is a lot funnier this time than it was two years ago, even though it is exactly the same show. Strange. Anyway, it was a great way to end the day here and we all troop wearily towards the exit all yelling, “NO,” in unision every time Ellie tries to veer off to view a shopping opportunity. Talk about taking after your mother. We make the short walk back to the cars and get loaded up. As Ellie jumps up into her seat and straps herself in, she announces, “That was wild.” I think that sums it up nicely. :D
We head straight to The Crossroads for dinner, and tonight it’s the Red Lobster for us. It’s not what you’d call top class seafood cuisine but its never let us down before and Big Steve is desperate to try lobster without paying the earth. Harry falls asleep at the table and slumps forward where he stays for most of the dinner. Our server teased Adrian because he asked for his salad with no dressing. No one else has ever made a big deal out of this: true the odd one raises their eyebrows but that’s about it. What’s wrong with dressing-free salad anyway? I nearly told the server that she could put dressing on his salad if she wished, but that if Adrian ate it he would start throwing up all over her restaurant. Which, funnily enough, is what the young girl on the next table started to do that very moment. It wasn’t the food because they had only just ordered but she was obviously very unwell and it took a lot of clearing up. The family beat a hasty retreat after that.
Our meal was very good. Big Steve got his lobster in the form of a huge tail along with his steak. Baby Steven had his jar of baby food, then he ate the apple sauce they gave Ellie and she didn’t want, and then he ate most of the mashed potato from my plate. After a most enjoyable dinner we packed the sleeping children into the cars and started back for the hotel. I immediately took a wrong turn out of the parking lot and ended up over by Goodings, must to the amusement of everyone else. I think that this was the last time this trip I took a random turn. Anyway, we got safely back to the hotel, settled Steven for the night, downed a quick beer and then it was lights out for us after another successful day.
