Day IV-Shamu, We Love You, However…!

We were all excited to get up and enjoy our day at Seaworld. I made my coffee in the room and decided one day I’d like to own one of those k-cup machines. We packed up and I found a cleaning lady to ask for two more Shamu toys. I cannot express how lovely and pleasant this hotel, the Renaissance is. I purchased Seaworld for one day and Aquatica, Seaworld’s water park, for the following day. The guy gave me five rain ponchos and told me to sit in the splash section. The guy was so nice, he made me two notches sweeter.
I was apprehensive to return to Tradewinds downstairs for breakfast, but the kids had free meals. The buffet was superb and each of us had sample shots of fruit smoothies. Nikos and I barely managed a sip since the kids loved them so much. While Katerina was eating her enormous strawberries, she plopped one in the silver creamer server. She then attempted to drink out of it, and it flew all over Elizabeth, who began to nearly have a meltdown. Three of the waitstaff rushed over and were manically cleaning, while we were doing our best to help but were also annoyingly in their way. Elizabeth tried to wipe up the cream that was splashed on her face, hair and outfit. Nikolas muttered, “Yep, we are cursed”, while smirking and enjoying that Elizabeth was bothered, and he didn’t even need to get in trouble for it.
Nikos and I reluctantly checked out but headed on over to Seaworld. Immediately, Nikos was highly stressed and I told him to relax, it was only ten. The first thing we did was make reservations for the Shark restaurant. This was one of our best memories from three years ago. We sat beside the wall-sized aquariums and literally dined with the sharks, with delightful food. I couldn’t wait until seven that evening! Nikos was being whiny about wanting to see Shamu already and the kids wanted the thrill rides. Our hotel had given us free wristbands to allow us to use the instant queue. We saved hours this way. The kids’ favorite ride was the Manta and we made the Manta entrance our “if you get lost meeting place”.
We saw dolphins and manta rays and the park is filled with so much to see and do. We all honestly prefer it over Disney. Nikos and I took turns riding the larger rides with the kids, but I refused to ride the Manta since I’m a big chicken. I went with the kids on Journey to Atlantis, which is such a cute water ride. Just as we were ascending the big hill, the ride stopped for roughly thirty minutes. Nikolas looked back and again reminded me of the curse. I think I even dozed off I was so hot, bored and uncomfortable. At least they handed us quick queue cards if we wanted to come back the following day.
Lunch was very simply five huge croissants. We were all still filled from breakfast and just needed something to tide us until dinner. Nikos would not stop bugging about going to see Shamu, and the heat of the day, combined with my tired feet made me annoyed to death by the way he pronounced “Shamu”. I told him we were going to the most crowded show being at 2p.m. and he debated with me saying it had to be the last show at 5p.m. When we arrived, the entire stadium was packed and I just had to ask a Seaworld attendant who confirmed that we were at the most crowded showtime of the day. Nikos refused to believe her. Then, we all were separated, since Nikolas and Elizabeth wanted splash seats and there was only room for two. Nikos held Katerina waiting for the unused handicap seats to be open to the public, and I went to the school trip seats to open up, and then waved wildly for Nikos to come yet he never did. The show began and I was fuming! The show was magnificent and I was sad to not share in Katerina’s delight and so mad at Nikos I wanted to leave him stranded on the Journey to Atlantis broken down for two days. There were a few Shamus and I wished I was a Shamu trainer but I felt I’d look more Shamu than the trainers in their wetsuits.

The show was over and I immediately went in the direction of the kids and couldn’t find them. Nikos and Katerina were nowhere to be found and I just waited at the exit down the ramp for twenty minutes. I couldn’t understand how it wouldn’t make perfect sense to meet where I was, but I was dealing with Nikos, after all, and I knew he’d blame me, just as I was blaming him. I walked all over the stadium, through the stadium, stopping to help some women from Zimbabwe, giving them Seaworld advice. In fact, I would have preferred world trip talking with them for the better part of the afternoon than dealing with two year old Nikos’ brain at the moment.
Finally, I walked to the other side of the park to the Manta entrance and there was my family, and the brilliant smiles of my sweet kids, and Nikos’ scowling, not the least bit handsome at the moment face. He started off in a mean way, too loud baby mode and I was talking right back making an even bigger spectacle than the breakfast spill. The poor kids were listening to us arguing instead of having fun and I felt immediately guilty and determined to make the rest of this day enjoyable, and told Nikos to quit talking to me. He wanted the last word, then I needed it, and this crap went on until the kids told us to grow up. Nikolas told me he was afraid he’d never see me again. Will my kids always love me like they do now? Nikos claimed to have never seen me waving wildy for me to sit where I was, saying he looked for my hat. Of course I wasn’t wearing my hat in a stadium with a freaking roof! We walked over to the kiddie ride area and Katerina reveled in sheer joy and didn’t protest a hair when we pulled her from the roller coaster because she didn’t meet the height requirement. Elizabeth felt sick after riding the twirling jellyfish ride and said the only thing that could help was ice cream. She was overheated and I knew she’d be sick and knew she’d find a way to get that ice cream after I’d told her she couldn’t have any. The older two rode that Manta coaster five more times, and still Nikolas wanted more. poor Katerina kept pointing saying she wanted to go too.

We made it to our reservation at the shark restaurant. We were so excited and thrilled to be there! My back was aching, legs and feet hurting and I could ave slept for the night right there with the sharks. We didn’t bring the stroller with us this trip and she only occasionally needed held or on Nikos’ shoulders. She is such a great little walker!
The restaurant was crowded and we were seated in a great spot, with the exception of the deadly silent family next and above us. There was a mom and dad and their teenage daughter seated between them. They never spoke, not once for the hour and forty five minutes we were there, only stared and stared some more at us. Even the kids noticed and Elizabeth asked what was up with the creepy staring family. At that moment I felt sad. That was how it would be when Nikolas and Elizabeth are grown and we just have Katerina, who would be a teenager. After ten more years, Nikos and I may even be too burned out to bicker, but that seems doubtful.

The food took a ridiculous amount of time, and do I need to write that Nikolas mentioned the curse yet again? The bread had been eaten, the butter squabbled over, and our waters needed refilled three times each. Then, the meals arrived! Yet, mine was not what I’d ordered. I will never order a boring salmon fillet in a restaurant, so I know darn well that I hadn’t ordered it. I ordered the halibut and that was what I’d waited to eat for well over an hour! The waitress seemed annoyed and actually told me that I’d ordered the salmon and then asked if I wanted it anyway and I didn’t. I make salmon all of the time at home, and I doctor it up with pistachios or pecans, or some kind of Bearnaise or aoli sauce. It is very boring plain. The waitress said she’d get the order in right away and Nikos tried his best to wait but I gave him the go-ahead. I watched the rest of my family devour their food and had a few bites here and there, and yet my food never came.

It was getting close to nine, and I finally told the waitress (politely) to just not worry about my dinner, explaining that the kids were exhausted. Poor Nikolas had dozed off and Katerina was resting her head on my lap, primed for a long Spring nap. Wouldn’t you know that my plate miraculously appeared while we waited for our check, and I still declined which I could tell bugged the waitress. Why would I put my poor kids through more waiting just to eat my food? It sucked to not have that dinner I had been so excited for but it was the curse in play, and yes, Nikolas reminded me-again! On the way out of Seaworld, I bought two cupcakes and I didn’t care that the kids were whining about wanting something, they had their dinner!
We drove to our next hotel, a laughable excuse of a castle, the Holiday Inn Castle hotel! It was as cheesy as I’d imagined it to be, and not very clean. I was in a grumbly and feel sorry for me mood and my cupcakes didn’t even taste good. I also felt guilty that I’d been selfish about not sharing them with the kids so I saved the rest for them.