The "Sunshine" State: Fourth of July with the Family

I work for a very wonderful company called Carnegie Learning that makes math software. Wonderful for many reasons, including that they gave us both Friday and Monday off for the Fourth of July.
 
So, thanks to my little sister getting bumped off a plane a month ago, I got a free ticket down to see my parents and two little sisters in Florida, where they were having a two-week vacation.


So I get down there late on Thursday, and Monday morning we are off to Sea World! They have a whole bunch of shows that we really enjoyed (jumping dolphins/whales/sea lions, anyone?) as well as a pretty sweet roller coaster (the Manta!) as well as a sea creature carousel as well as fireworks to finish off the evening. But the best show of the day was far and away the spoof show.

We had done the obligatory Shamu show and a dolphin show called "Believe" (yes, it was that hokie) and even a pet show, where dogs, cats, rats, skunks, and pigs had their day.

After all of these, we went to see "Sea Lions Tonight." The two sea lions (and a fat, ugly walrus) mocked all of the other shows, along with their trainers. And these shows were pretty darn easy to mock. (Really? "Venture beyond the horizon where dolphins, birds and spirited performers meet"? Cheesy.)

The next day was spent at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, where, if you have been buried under a rock for the past few months, the new "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" opened not too long ago.

It was pretty sweet how immersed you feel in the experience. Walking through Hogsmead, the roofs had "snow" on them... and somehow you felt cooler! We did the dizzying Harry Potter virtual adventure ride, then took a break and did some water rides in Jurassic Park.


It's good we did them then, because that was the last I saw of the sun for the rest of the trip. The skies opened up about two o'clock and didn't shut until... well, after Sunday at least.

We stopped at Toon Town to gawk at Betty Boop, then on to Seussville to meet the Grinch and other characters. (I was read "Oh, The Places You'll Go" after freshman year of high school, and that and the Sneeches are my two favorite Dr. Seuss books.)


Dinner in the Hogshead, with a bit of butterbeer beforehand, and we were done (and damp).


My final day was spent in the condo (which we had arrived late at the night before). The rain came down and out came the games. A grocery shopping trip revived us, and we got up enough momentum to go see the Flying Tigers.

That's right, the Great American Past-time of baseball. Greasy food, ice cream, and a roof for when it rained through the entire fireworks show. What more can you ask for? Oh, getting to see my family. That's in that list too.