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Tuesday the 12th
IT'S MARINELAND DAY!!!
Ahem. I mean, we get up for a leisurely morning (more leisurely for some than others), a quick check with the concierge about transportation to the park (hail a taxi) and a nice lunch in the hotel before heading out. The drive there is a short one and we're inside before too long.
We start out with the freshwater fish and a couple of seals as we're killing time before a show. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, fish 'expressions' just crack me up.
WTF Fishies
And then we head into the King Waldorf Stadium to get our seats for the show. The dolphins come out early for a bit of crowd warm-up and then the show itself begins. We get sea lions, a walrus and then the dolphins are back again. There's splashing but nothing comes close to the Sea World Splash Zone. Which is all to the good, hee.
Pre-Show Warmup
Sea Lions
Walrus
Dolphins
From there it's off to find the killer whales -- a mere five-mile trek (okay, not really but this park has the most 'wasted space' I've seen in a themed park) to Friendship Cove. And lo, there are killer whales.
The middle picture illustrates why it is Not Nice to stick your tongue out.
Killer Whales
LadyS and Killer Whale
Then it's off to find, umm, cold stuff. Nice cold water bottles. Feels good on face and neck and chest. And yes, kids, ignore the crazy lady putting it down the front of her blouse. (Hint: not me). And up the back of her blouse. (Also: not me). Eventual drinking of the water occurs and we move on. We move on to Arctic Cove, another paltry five mile in the blistering heat of the desert, uphill, both ways trek, where there are beluga whales. And a booth where one can buy tickets to pet the whales. I held back so I wasn't right there for "Pet whales?" *nodnodnod* but a ticket was procured and LadyS was directed to the next stage, which was apparently to present the ticket to someone who then directed her to the people the ticket needed to go to. And then there was whale petting and whale feeding and the taking photos thereof as proof. I have but one regret -- that I didn't get photos of the feeding because I kept laughing. The whale, kelowna, was directly below the hand with the fish (LadyS touched raw fish!) and all that needed to happen was to drop it into the open mouth. The best was the one that went across Kelowna's nose. "Dere's a fisch od by dose!" Bwaahahahahahahahha!!! I can tell you that while she may not have wanted to, LadyS did indeed wash her hand. I believe there was internal conflict between "EEEEE!! petted whale!" and "touched raw fish eww!!" and ultimately the raw fish ewww won out.
LADYS PETZ WHALE!! OMGZ!1!
Beluga Whales, Not Petted by LadyS
Invisible Whale
Hiiiiiii!!!
After that, what could possibly have any real attraction for us besides checking out the gift shop for the appropriate memorabilia to commemorate the Great Whale Petting Day and to get Stuff for LadyS' boys. Important things procured (but not, I'm sorry to say, a mini Mountie Bear on Horse), we asked the nice people there to call us a cab, and being polite Canadians, they did not say "you're a cab" but instead called a cab for us. Our cab driver was an interesting study, very talkative, told us all about the monastery we'd visited and deciding that we were both spiritual people, enjoined us to pray for his wife's health. (So if anyone reading this is so inclined, you too may pray for our cab driver's wife's health). We had him take us to the Hard Rock Cafe (LadyS had never been to one) and there we managed to walk right past the Spiderman Ride and other cool stuff and were seated pretty much immediately. We had the basic Hard Rock Fare and conversation that was regularly punctuated with a perky "I PETTED WHALE!!!" *G* Afterward we procured Hard Rock beanie bears and then worked our way down the street to the Important Dessert Store also known as the Hershey Store where LadyS treated us to a Hershey's milkshake complete with Kiss. BUT! BUT! Before we got there we passed a series of souvenir shops and I noticed that one of them was *gasp* an RCMP Shop! Where they had (you guessed, didn't you?) mini Mountie Bears on Horses!!! W00t!!! I bought one for me and one for a gift. Yay!!! And then after a nice break with milkshakes while sitting at a table along the sidewalk, we decided it was about time to head back after looking semi-longingly at the Clifton Hill streets where all the cool sideshow stuff was, but it was uphill from where we were, so we just hailed a cab to take us back to the hotel. Where we then took pictures from the window because this time it wasn't yet dark.
Panorama
Wednesday the 13th
Another leisurely morning, though it did include collusion with the hotels receiving department to ship a Really Big Box to, erm, somewhere in Alberta. Because we didn't want to be lugging a Really Big Box around with us, hee! And then checking with the concierge about the shuttle (note the use of the word 'shuttle' here) to Niagara-on-the-Lake, which we were told would be waiting outside very shortly and so we headed there instead of grabbing a quick lunch. After waiting a while and seeing nothing resembling a shuttle LadyS went in to inquire and learned that the shuttle was probably the taxicab that had been sitting out front. Where the taxicabs wait. Yup. That was it. Only then he got a call to pick up two more people to take there and, lucky me, I got to sit on the freakin' HUMP in the middle of the backseat, next to a girl who was at exactly the right age to not want some random person leaning on her. And may I just say the trip was very curvy. Ouch. And when we got there, and paid for the round trip, our driver said, quite specifically, that he would be back at 5 to pick us up. Yay. We hopped on the bus to the center of town and off we went.
Anyway, Niagara-on-the-Lake is a nice little, rather typical, tourist town. (And this is said by someone whose place in Michigan is essentially in a rather typical tourist town). We decided on lunch first and after attempting to use the map to locate a restaurant, we ended up just going into the first one we passed. Discerning tourists, that's what we were, yessirree. It was a good choice as it had both good food and a good location -- downstairs with all the natural cooling that provides. There was one interesting thing though. We'd gotten an order of mozzarella sticks, five of them, in which four of the five had, umm, no cheese in them. But the herb crust was very tasty so they weren't going to waste, but we saved the last one to show our waitress, who then told the manager who came over and offered to give us a replacement order that he would oversee himself. Turns out that if cheese sticks are left in even a little bit too long the cheese gets so liquid that it runs out, and because it's in the deep fry the cook can't tell it's happened. Hence empty husks. Hee!
After lunch there was random shopping which included a little TV/Film Memorabilia shop where LadyS got a James Dean switchplate (no longer in her possession) and showed me a DVD labeled "The Fearless Vampire Killers" which I then got -- along with a 'license' plate for the front of my car. Route 66, very nifty. The shopkeeper was very friendly and noted that few people are even aware of that movie even though Roman Polanski directed it (and co-starred in it with Sharon Tate -- something I knew about it once he mentioned Polanski) at which point I realized that I, ummm, already own it. *blush* So I made a present of it to LadyS but suggested screening it before letting the boys watch it. We continued wandering in and out of shops, finding a few little things that caught our eyes. Then we got some nice cold bottles of water and found a shady bench where we could wait until it was time to catch the bus back to the shuttle pick-up. Once back there, we settled down on a picnic table in the dappled shade and waited for our cab driver to return -- and plotting to grab the more comfortable seats for the trip back (I called shotgun). But lo! Just before the appointed time a real, recognizable, shuttle bus drives up and the driver begins taking tickets that, hey, looked exactly like ours! So we gave ours to her and grabbed a couple seats together! Yay!
Niagara-on-the-Lake
The evening was mostly taken up by packing and all that fun stuff so we just ordered something simple from room service and watched the Falls outside the windows. Because, hey, how often do you get to do that? And there was a great big rainbow end on the Horseshoe Falls! One last use of the big ol' tub after LadyS dropped off to sleep, a little reading and we're up to the transition between the Pre-Gathering and the Gathering!
Rainbow!
Chronicles of which shall be forthcoming!
IT'S MARINELAND DAY!!!
Ahem. I mean, we get up for a leisurely morning (more leisurely for some than others), a quick check with the concierge about transportation to the park (hail a taxi) and a nice lunch in the hotel before heading out. The drive there is a short one and we're inside before too long.
We start out with the freshwater fish and a couple of seals as we're killing time before a show. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, fish 'expressions' just crack me up.
WTF Fishies
And then we head into the King Waldorf Stadium to get our seats for the show. The dolphins come out early for a bit of crowd warm-up and then the show itself begins. We get sea lions, a walrus and then the dolphins are back again. There's splashing but nothing comes close to the Sea World Splash Zone. Which is all to the good, hee.
Pre-Show Warmup
Sea Lions
Walrus
Dolphins
From there it's off to find the killer whales -- a mere five-mile trek (okay, not really but this park has the most 'wasted space' I've seen in a themed park) to Friendship Cove. And lo, there are killer whales.
The middle picture illustrates why it is Not Nice to stick your tongue out.
Killer Whales
LadyS and Killer Whale
Then it's off to find, umm, cold stuff. Nice cold water bottles. Feels good on face and neck and chest. And yes, kids, ignore the crazy lady putting it down the front of her blouse. (Hint: not me). And up the back of her blouse. (Also: not me). Eventual drinking of the water occurs and we move on. We move on to Arctic Cove, another paltry five mile in the blistering heat of the desert, uphill, both ways trek, where there are beluga whales. And a booth where one can buy tickets to pet the whales. I held back so I wasn't right there for "Pet whales?" *nodnodnod* but a ticket was procured and LadyS was directed to the next stage, which was apparently to present the ticket to someone who then directed her to the people the ticket needed to go to. And then there was whale petting and whale feeding and the taking photos thereof as proof. I have but one regret -- that I didn't get photos of the feeding because I kept laughing. The whale, kelowna, was directly below the hand with the fish (LadyS touched raw fish!) and all that needed to happen was to drop it into the open mouth. The best was the one that went across Kelowna's nose. "Dere's a fisch od by dose!" Bwaahahahahahahahha!!! I can tell you that while she may not have wanted to, LadyS did indeed wash her hand. I believe there was internal conflict between "EEEEE!! petted whale!" and "touched raw fish eww!!" and ultimately the raw fish ewww won out.
LADYS PETZ WHALE!! OMGZ!1!
Beluga Whales, Not Petted by LadyS
Invisible Whale
Hiiiiiii!!!
After that, what could possibly have any real attraction for us besides checking out the gift shop for the appropriate memorabilia to commemorate the Great Whale Petting Day and to get Stuff for LadyS' boys. Important things procured (but not, I'm sorry to say, a mini Mountie Bear on Horse), we asked the nice people there to call us a cab, and being polite Canadians, they did not say "you're a cab" but instead called a cab for us. Our cab driver was an interesting study, very talkative, told us all about the monastery we'd visited and deciding that we were both spiritual people, enjoined us to pray for his wife's health. (So if anyone reading this is so inclined, you too may pray for our cab driver's wife's health). We had him take us to the Hard Rock Cafe (LadyS had never been to one) and there we managed to walk right past the Spiderman Ride and other cool stuff and were seated pretty much immediately. We had the basic Hard Rock Fare and conversation that was regularly punctuated with a perky "I PETTED WHALE!!!" *G* Afterward we procured Hard Rock beanie bears and then worked our way down the street to the Important Dessert Store also known as the Hershey Store where LadyS treated us to a Hershey's milkshake complete with Kiss. BUT! BUT! Before we got there we passed a series of souvenir shops and I noticed that one of them was *gasp* an RCMP Shop! Where they had (you guessed, didn't you?) mini Mountie Bears on Horses!!! W00t!!! I bought one for me and one for a gift. Yay!!! And then after a nice break with milkshakes while sitting at a table along the sidewalk, we decided it was about time to head back after looking semi-longingly at the Clifton Hill streets where all the cool sideshow stuff was, but it was uphill from where we were, so we just hailed a cab to take us back to the hotel. Where we then took pictures from the window because this time it wasn't yet dark.
Panorama
Wednesday the 13th
Another leisurely morning, though it did include collusion with the hotels receiving department to ship a Really Big Box to, erm, somewhere in Alberta. Because we didn't want to be lugging a Really Big Box around with us, hee! And then checking with the concierge about the shuttle (note the use of the word 'shuttle' here) to Niagara-on-the-Lake, which we were told would be waiting outside very shortly and so we headed there instead of grabbing a quick lunch. After waiting a while and seeing nothing resembling a shuttle LadyS went in to inquire and learned that the shuttle was probably the taxicab that had been sitting out front. Where the taxicabs wait. Yup. That was it. Only then he got a call to pick up two more people to take there and, lucky me, I got to sit on the freakin' HUMP in the middle of the backseat, next to a girl who was at exactly the right age to not want some random person leaning on her. And may I just say the trip was very curvy. Ouch. And when we got there, and paid for the round trip, our driver said, quite specifically, that he would be back at 5 to pick us up. Yay. We hopped on the bus to the center of town and off we went.
Anyway, Niagara-on-the-Lake is a nice little, rather typical, tourist town. (And this is said by someone whose place in Michigan is essentially in a rather typical tourist town). We decided on lunch first and after attempting to use the map to locate a restaurant, we ended up just going into the first one we passed. Discerning tourists, that's what we were, yessirree. It was a good choice as it had both good food and a good location -- downstairs with all the natural cooling that provides. There was one interesting thing though. We'd gotten an order of mozzarella sticks, five of them, in which four of the five had, umm, no cheese in them. But the herb crust was very tasty so they weren't going to waste, but we saved the last one to show our waitress, who then told the manager who came over and offered to give us a replacement order that he would oversee himself. Turns out that if cheese sticks are left in even a little bit too long the cheese gets so liquid that it runs out, and because it's in the deep fry the cook can't tell it's happened. Hence empty husks. Hee!
After lunch there was random shopping which included a little TV/Film Memorabilia shop where LadyS got a James Dean switchplate (no longer in her possession) and showed me a DVD labeled "The Fearless Vampire Killers" which I then got -- along with a 'license' plate for the front of my car. Route 66, very nifty. The shopkeeper was very friendly and noted that few people are even aware of that movie even though Roman Polanski directed it (and co-starred in it with Sharon Tate -- something I knew about it once he mentioned Polanski) at which point I realized that I, ummm, already own it. *blush* So I made a present of it to LadyS but suggested screening it before letting the boys watch it. We continued wandering in and out of shops, finding a few little things that caught our eyes. Then we got some nice cold bottles of water and found a shady bench where we could wait until it was time to catch the bus back to the shuttle pick-up. Once back there, we settled down on a picnic table in the dappled shade and waited for our cab driver to return -- and plotting to grab the more comfortable seats for the trip back (I called shotgun). But lo! Just before the appointed time a real, recognizable, shuttle bus drives up and the driver begins taking tickets that, hey, looked exactly like ours! So we gave ours to her and grabbed a couple seats together! Yay!
Niagara-on-the-Lake
The evening was mostly taken up by packing and all that fun stuff so we just ordered something simple from room service and watched the Falls outside the windows. Because, hey, how often do you get to do that? And there was a great big rainbow end on the Horseshoe Falls! One last use of the big ol' tub after LadyS dropped off to sleep, a little reading and we're up to the transition between the Pre-Gathering and the Gathering!
Rainbow!
Chronicles of which shall be forthcoming!
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