Labor Day Weekend...
Sep. 6th, 2004 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unclejimboWell Saturday I had to work. Even though it was busy, I was able to keep things from driving me crazy... From now on, I go through the charge nurse if they screw up. If they keep screwing up, then its on her.
Sunday,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kyburg wanted to get on the road early. I got home about 12:30 AM, so I was not to thrilled with a 6 AM wakeup call. As it was, we were on the road by 11 AM. ~~ It was hot and the traffic as we neared San Diego was terrible. We were both trying for heat exhaustion when we arrived at the San Diego Zoo. Still, we saw the new baby panda, found out the last panda born in San Diego had just become a mama (twins, no less) and took a bus ride around the zoo to see what was new.
Mostly babies. There was the panda; cute, cuddly, and probably able to rip you apart if one were foolish enough to enter the enclosure. He was sprawled under a water mist sprayer keeping cool. (Yes, it was that hot. Oy!) Mom was crashed out on a bed of ice cubes.
There was a new baby giraffe... 8 months old and merely 8 feet tall :p
There was a baby meerkat. (Yes, that would be you Timmon ^^) Maaaaybe a pound. Cute, cuddly and never far from mama. Looked like a kitten really.
Today... Labor Day -- Sea World!!!
First thing to do when we got there? Feed the Dolphins. Really. Wow!!! @.@
You buy fish and go into a feeding area and they will swim right up to you. And you can touch them. Warm, soft... So many to choose from, only 4 fish... ^^ And getting to the wall was a challenge. Be polite people. If you are done feeding them, move along so someone else can have a chance.
Saw the Shamu show. Imagine a 9,000 lbs whale totally airborne. The oldest one, Corky came from Marine World in Long Beach when that establishment went belly up. She is 41 years old and is the oldest Killer Whale in captivity. Now you PETA folks, don't get your panties in an uproar. These whales are well treated and cared for better than most of your pets. They don't let just anyone care for them and the money and interest raised goes toward aiding wildlife and with rehabilitation programs for whales, manatees and other animals in trouble.
There were manatees... Huge, gentle giants who wouldn't hurt a fly. These were sent out from Florida to make room for others in worse condition. And the scars you see would make you cry. One had three deep scars across its tail and lower back. The tail was not being used and was really swollen. The one surprise for me here was that manatees use their flippers as hands to get the kelp they eat into their mouths. (I didn't know they did that. Learn something new every day... ^^)
There were sharks. (Don't touch for obvious reasons.) There was a roller coaster crossed with a log flume. Fun, fast, wet. The perfect thing on a hot day.
There was a sea lion show. (Think Tool Time with seal lions. :> ) And there were acrobats. It was a special attraction for the summer and was gone after today. We were lucky to see it. Lots of fun.
To cap things off, after stopping by to give the dolphins another pat or two and some more fish, we had dinner with a new friend. Shamu. Well, two of them anyways. They have seven killer whales and they all are Shamu. Each has an individual name so they can be kept track of. It was a buffet dinner and the food was alright. Still, sitting there while the sun goes down and watching the trainers interact with the whales a few feet from where you're sitting... It was priceless. I highly recommend it if you are out this way.
The drive home was fairly uneventful. Too many idiots trying to do 100 in heavy traffic. You know, the SoCal usual.
Now, time for a shower, some sleep, and get ready for the DCFS home study tomorrow so we can get licensed as a foster family. The fun never ends.
Sunday,
kyburg wanted to get on the road early. I got home about 12:30 AM, so I was not to thrilled with a 6 AM wakeup call. As it was, we were on the road by 11 AM. ~~ It was hot and the traffic as we neared San Diego was terrible. We were both trying for heat exhaustion when we arrived at the San Diego Zoo. Still, we saw the new baby panda, found out the last panda born in San Diego had just become a mama (twins, no less) and took a bus ride around the zoo to see what was new.Mostly babies. There was the panda; cute, cuddly, and probably able to rip you apart if one were foolish enough to enter the enclosure. He was sprawled under a water mist sprayer keeping cool. (Yes, it was that hot. Oy!) Mom was crashed out on a bed of ice cubes.
There was a new baby giraffe... 8 months old and merely 8 feet tall :p
There was a baby meerkat. (Yes, that would be you Timmon ^^) Maaaaybe a pound. Cute, cuddly and never far from mama. Looked like a kitten really.
Today... Labor Day -- Sea World!!!
First thing to do when we got there? Feed the Dolphins. Really. Wow!!! @.@
You buy fish and go into a feeding area and they will swim right up to you. And you can touch them. Warm, soft... So many to choose from, only 4 fish... ^^ And getting to the wall was a challenge. Be polite people. If you are done feeding them, move along so someone else can have a chance.
Saw the Shamu show. Imagine a 9,000 lbs whale totally airborne. The oldest one, Corky came from Marine World in Long Beach when that establishment went belly up. She is 41 years old and is the oldest Killer Whale in captivity. Now you PETA folks, don't get your panties in an uproar. These whales are well treated and cared for better than most of your pets. They don't let just anyone care for them and the money and interest raised goes toward aiding wildlife and with rehabilitation programs for whales, manatees and other animals in trouble.
There were manatees... Huge, gentle giants who wouldn't hurt a fly. These were sent out from Florida to make room for others in worse condition. And the scars you see would make you cry. One had three deep scars across its tail and lower back. The tail was not being used and was really swollen. The one surprise for me here was that manatees use their flippers as hands to get the kelp they eat into their mouths. (I didn't know they did that. Learn something new every day... ^^)
There were sharks. (Don't touch for obvious reasons.) There was a roller coaster crossed with a log flume. Fun, fast, wet. The perfect thing on a hot day.
There was a sea lion show. (Think Tool Time with seal lions. :> ) And there were acrobats. It was a special attraction for the summer and was gone after today. We were lucky to see it. Lots of fun.
To cap things off, after stopping by to give the dolphins another pat or two and some more fish, we had dinner with a new friend. Shamu. Well, two of them anyways. They have seven killer whales and they all are Shamu. Each has an individual name so they can be kept track of. It was a buffet dinner and the food was alright. Still, sitting there while the sun goes down and watching the trainers interact with the whales a few feet from where you're sitting... It was priceless. I highly recommend it if you are out this way.
The drive home was fairly uneventful. Too many idiots trying to do 100 in heavy traffic. You know, the SoCal usual.
Now, time for a shower, some sleep, and get ready for the DCFS home study tomorrow so we can get licensed as a foster family. The fun never ends.
