SeaWorld

So, I'm a bit behind on my blog of my vacation to Florida, so I'll do my best to get everything added.
On Monday (the 29th), we drove up to Orlando with plans to go to a dinner show and SeaWorld the next morning, but Arabian Knights was sold out and Medival Knights was too expensive, so we ended up going to Macaroni Grill (where Amie gets a good discount).
We bought our tickets at a discount ticketing place. We had done a little research and found a place online that had good prices, and while we were driving, saw some advertisements for another place. We made some phone calls and decided to stop at the first place (which was on the way). We got there, and the guy was a jerk, and they wouldn't honor what they said on the phone. On the phone they said that if we brought in a quote from another discount ticketer, they would beat that price. He (the owner) wouldn't do that, so their prices were higher. He also said that he was partners with the other place (that we had the quote for), so they had the same prices, when bringing up specific prices (like to Medival times), their prices were different, and he was a jerk about it, so we bought a t-shirt and left. The T-shirts were Disney World 2008 T-shirts, so they were discounted (3 for 10). We drove to the other place, and got our tickets to SeaWorld. They had the same dang shirts at the 2nd place we went for 1.99 each! I couldn't believe it! It made me even more mad about the other place.
We spent the night at a Motel 6. The beds were full size, and it was rediculously uncomforatable for Trisha and me, so I ended up sleeping on the floor. We slept in a little bit and went to McDonalds for breakfast.
SeaWorld was rediculously busy. It took 30 minutes to drive the 5 miles from the motel to SeaWorld (on the freeway) because it was so backed up. Then it took another 30 minutes to get from the exit to the parking. We finally got there at a little after 11. Later we found out that there was over 38,000 people that went to the park that day. Crazy.
We basically did everything we wanted to do at SeaWorld. We saw the shark exhibit (and fed the sharks), we saw the dolphin show, the acrobat show, we saw the seal show, we saw a Shamu show, we pet the sting rays, we went to an all-you-can-eat picnic thing, we saw the penguins, and we fed the dolphins. It was awesome.
The low-lights were:
The long lines - self explanitory
The Shamu show - boring, lots of singing, church chiors, and not much of the whales.
The Dolphin show - more about acrobatics than about dolphins. The dolphins were out for a total of MAYBE 3 minutes out of the 23 minute show. They came out towards the beginning, did a couple jumps, and then went back while the people did a bunch of diving and other stuff, then came back out for a couple minutes towards the end. I would rather see the dolphins and their abilities and learn about them rather than see a "show" about a little girl who escaped to a world of imagination.

The mid-lights were:
The Penguins - You stood on an escalator for 30 yards in front of the penguin display. It was cool to see the penguins, but really short.
The Shark exhibit (and feeding the sharks) - Of course, you can't really get close to the sharks when feeding them, but the experience is nothing like the sting rays or dolphins. You throw in the food and the sharks kind of just swim by and eat it. The shark exhibit was ok, the coolest part was the underwater tunnel, but I didn't really see many sharks.
The acrobat show - It was pretty amazing what they could do, and the special effects were pretty cool (lots of bubbles), but I found myself asking what it had to do with Seaworld.

The high-lights were:
The all-you-can-eat picnic - the food wasn't really amazing or anything, but at an amusement park the food is generally really expensive and not good at all and you don't get much. For 15 bucks for an adult, I ate some good food, and got to sit and relax (and drink several $3.50 bottles of soda). We took some soda and water with us when we left too, so we didn't have to buy any.
Pet the Sting Rays - I love that they allow you to interact with the animals. That was my favorite part when I went to SeaWorld in San Diego a couple years ago. It was pretty cool, and the kids got a kick out of it.
The seal show - Not only was this the best show of the ones we saw, it was ESPECIALLY good because the actors kept screwing up. They were so distracted by things that kept happening, they'd forget their lines, but they were good sports about it, and made it really funny. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. On top of it, at the beginning (while you're waiting for the show to start), they had a mime come out and screw around with the audience. He was hilarious.
Feeding the dolphins - This had to be the best thing about our day. We stood in line forever to be able to do it, but barely made it in (the last group of the day). It was kind of expensive, but it was a good experience for the boys, and it was really awesome to see the animals that close up and to be able to interact with them.

We got done with SeaWorld around 11 and made the long journey home. We finally got home at a little after 1. It was a long day, but it was worth it!

Dinner Cruise

On Sunday night, we decided to go on a dinner cruise. It was priced decently (30 dollars per person, all-you-can-eat (2 meals), and lots of entertainment (well, sort of). We got there just a few minutes before it departed and immediately went to the buffet. The food was pretty good, but nothing to write home about. I had prime rib, which always makes me happy.... I must say that the horseradish sauce they have is the best I've ever had. It was amazing.
So we ate and explored the ship. The weather was awesome, it was warm out on the deck, and a little breezy. We went and gambled a little bit, but the tables were too expensive for my liking. The girls did slots for a bit, but we really didn't spend too much time doing that. We decided to go see if there was any entertainment (like was advertised), but apparently they only do shows on certain nights, and Sunday night wasn't one of them. So we bought a couple packs of cards and played some card games in one of the lounges whilst drinking pina coladas. We went and ate our second meal (a breakfast) before looking at all the houses along the coast as we got closer to docking. Some of those houses were amazing.
All in all, it was a really fun night where we got to bond and have some fun. We would do it again if we came back to Florida.

Fun in Florida

Here we are in Florida at sea world waiting for shamu to splash the crowd. We've had a great time so far including one of the (if not the best) beach trip I've had. We went to the beach on either Thursday or Friday of last week. Trisha and I ended up with a bit of a sunburn but nothing too out of control.
Adam was REALLY tired on the way to the beach and complained a lot about wanting to stay home. He was ornery until about 45 minutes after we got there. Damon and I rode the 4 foot waves for a while before I went and laid out for a bit. It was a comfy 80 degrees. Perfect. The water was 74 (also perfect). We built a pretty good sandcastle and then went swimming again before heading home. We would have stayed later but Amie had to work that night so we had to be back pretty early.
Well. Shamu is going to make his entrance soon so I'd better wrap it up. Stay tuned to hear about our dinner cruise and our day at seaworld!

Florida

We made it to Florida! tHE WEATHER HERE IS awesome! The highs are in the high 70s. Beautiful and warm! The flights worked out just perfect. Both Trisha and I went straight from flight to flight and didn't have to try to make different flights or anything, so that worked out perfect. I got in to Fort Lauderdale at about 9:30 AM on Tuesday (the 23rd).
Damon picked me up from the airport, and had to get some more work done before he could take me home (since it was in the middle of his work day). So, I rode around with Damon in his car until about 6 that evening. It was a long day of sitting on my butt. I got about 2 and a half hours of sleep in his car as he was working, and didn't sleep at all on the plane, so I was pretty tired. When I finally crashed (at around 2 AM), I didn't sleep very well because I was so tired. I also woke up a little congested, so I hope I don't end up with a cold.
We're enjoying being here with Amie and Damon and the boys. We've been chilling and haven't done a whole lot, which has been nice.
I went to lunch yesterday at Boston Market. I haven't been there in years (cuz I think they're out of business in Utah). Pretty good food. Especially their mashed potatoes.
We went to eat dinner at Buca De Beppo, and because my birthday was within the past 7 days, we got a free desert and a 10 dollar off gift card for our next visit. They also did a great job embarrassing me by getting the ENTIRE restaurant to sing happy birthday to me. The food wasn't very good, though. It was quite bland. Oh well.
We ate lunch today at Chili's, and then ate leftovers for dinner while playing The Office board game. That was fun (I won!).
Well, It's quite late, so I better head off to bed pretty soon.

Florida

As many of you know, this year Trisha and I decided to head out of town for Christmas and try our luck at a summery Christmas. We're going to Florida! In fact, Trisha is already there, and I'm scheduled to leave tonight at 11:15 PM. I'm hoping that the weather has cleared up enough by then (and that the flight isn't full).
Trisha's sister lives in West Palm Beach, so we're going to stay with them for a week while we soak up the sun. We're both very excited! It is a little weird to know that some of the holiday traditions will not be observed this year. We're gunna miss our family, but getting away from the hustle and bustle while visiting with family who couldn't make it in for Christmas seems like it will be ok. We'll see!