A Birthday Pool Party...

My birthday just happened to fall on a Saturday this year, which was the perfect excuse for a pool party at my dad’s. Lucky for us, we had several old friends from school to join us. The girls were happy to see Hannah and Tenaya, classmates from Holland that had moved to Tokyo in 2007. James and I enjoyed catching up with their parents Susan, who’s from California, and Masaya.
I was very thrilled that Holly, my friend since 3rd grade, made the trip down from Sacramento to spend the afternoon with me. It was fun going through our final high school year book and the 25th reunion recaps that she’d brought along. Later in the trip, I further reminisced with my old college buddy John.

And Finally, California...

We spent the final leg of our trip in California at my dad’s house, where he and Ann gave us 5-star treatment for over 2 weeks. We went to see my dad play in two concerts, had some great sushi and spent lots of time in the pool. I failed to get any photos of my sisters, but we spent a night with Leigh and Mike, and saw a great Shakespeare comedy in the park with Eden. The girls completed their first scrapbook telling the tale of their dolphin adventure at Discovery Cove. And I helped complete my first issue of Going Dutch for the American Women’s Club from afar.

Our Final Day in Florida...

I booked our flights to California to leave in the afternoon so we’d have a full morning with Sharon and Brett, Jr. The kids begged us to take them to the corny science museum housed in the cool upside down WonderWorks building. We all survived laying on the Bed of Nails, playing virtual reality games and trying to psych out our opponents on a mind game. After lunch, Sharon was sweet to play taxi driver to the airport and we were finally really on our way to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Soaring Like a Manta Ray...

While you might not think of manta rays as flying animals, if you’ve ever been on Sea World’s new flying roller coaster called the Manta, you’d change your mind. We got to the park early so we could beat the crowds to this ride that opened in May. I knew that we’d be in a prone position, but was still calm when the bars closed around my legs and my neck. I did, however, freak out when my feet were lifted up behind me as we were still parked in the station. I started screaming (with some minor swear words thrown in) at that moment and continued until we pulled back in 2 1/2 minutes later. Despite being terrified, I thought it was awesome! We soared above the park with nothing below us, which was even more amazing to see when we went on again at night (this time I just screamed without swearing).

Enjoying Sea World...

While I had been to Sea World many times while I lived in San Diego, the girls had never been. They had seen dolphin, seal and walrus shows before, but this was their first time to experience a killer whale show. They even dared to sit in the splash zone (Sharon and I preferred to stay dry despite the heat), but were disappointingly dry at the end. After experiencing how strong bottlenose dolphins are yesterday, we had an even greater appreciation of just how powerful this largest member of the dolphin family must be. Ashlynn is now more convinced than ever that she’d like to be a dolphin trainer when she grows up.

More Time with Old Friends...

I was thrilled that Sharon and Brett, Jr. were able to drive up and meet us at the hotel when we returned from Discovery Cove. We were happy that Big Brett had just started a new job, but were bummed that he wasn’t able to sneak away. We went out that night to a nice Chinese restaurant that had an awesome koi pond out front. It was early to bed that night as we had another big day ahead of us the next day.

We Love Dolphins!

The final encounter with the dolphins was completely amazing. This time we swam out into the deep water and laid down. The two dolphins then put their noses in the curve of our feet and pushed us back to shore. Just like in dolphin shows, we naturally rose out of the water. This ride probably didn’t last more than 15 seconds, but it was incredibly exciting and we all agreed that it was the best part of the day. Jimmy actually got to do it twice because one of the dolphins decided not to participate the first time and had to try again. Afterwards, we had about two hours to enjoy the lazy river, the aviary and the coral reef. What an unforgettable experience!