Sea World with the Fords

Dear Jack,

It seems as though the summer is half over and it has just begun. With your Uncle Jonathan here these past two weekends, and our vacation to San Antonio already planned for this first week in June (when San Antonio schools were still in session), we have already had so many adventures.

We wanted to make sure we did Sea World as soon as possible. I know you and your love for fish, so we wanted to give you a vacation destination you could really enjoy. As a bonus, we got the Fords to go with us.

I know there are many wonderful things to do and see at Sea World, but for you, the dolphins and the aquarium are the only ones that really matter.

This time we went ahead and paid to feed the dolphins. Mr. Ford commented on the racket of having the park guests pay to feed the animals, but it was so worth it! Just look at your face.

One of the dolphins is a baby, a calf, we found out from the dolphin keeper. You were absolutely enamored by the littlest dolphin. I think you felt some affinity with it.

After the dolphin tank, it was on to your next favorite place, the Shark and Coral Reef aquarium.

You would just walk around in awe and then ask to be picked up to look at the different tanks. Once you found one you really liked, you would just sit and look and look and look.

Your favorite tanks this time were the ones with the sea horses and the crabs. "Crab!" you yelled over and over again in excitement. You also liked the green coral polyps.

After the "dolfs," fish, and crabs, we went to the "Bay of Play" kids' section of the park.

You were such a big adventuring boy going up the rope climber. Your dad took off with your sister, so I stayed with you, but it was Mrs. Ford who really climbed that whole structure with you. (Well, she got Mr. Ford to come up this one time, but really, which of them looks happier about the whole climbing business.)

I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I know that Mrs. Ford is about 6 months along in her pregnancy. At the right angle, you can really see that she is showing these days, but if you were just watching her climbing and sliding and general keeping up with you, you would never guess.

We also found some Sesame Street characters at the "Bay of Play." You don't watch the show here at home, but you have a passing knowledge of the characters from times you have seen it at school. You ran over to them and seemed very excited to see them, but absolutely positively would not take a picture with them, so Mrs. Ford got this shot instead.

When we realized that neither you or your sister wanted to be in the sprinklers, we tried to go to the Shamu show. In all the times we have been to Sea World, I have never seen Shamu. You were also very excited, "Find whale? Find whale now?" Unfortunately, the timings for the shows were wrong in the information booklet and we missed our only chance to see her this trip.

We did, though, find a very unusual duck and flamingo exhibit.

Okay, it was one of those carnie games, but you thought it was an exhibit.

Back at the exit, you ran over, once again very excited, "Find whale! Find whale! Whale! Whale!"

I feel a little bad for you that this is your great whale moment at Sea World.

Then it was off to the gift shop where Mrs. Ford bought you a stuffed octopus ("oc-pus") and your daddy got you a stuffed sting ray ("way") and you left Sea World a very satisfied little boy.

Love,
Mom