I See the Sea

Well, the sea lions. Our local zoo just opened a new exhibit of sea lions and an harbor seal. They had a preview week in May and it just so happened to start on the day we came back from vacation. And the zoo just so happened to be on our way home.

Getting there was our motivation to keep trudging and not stop except to fix sandwiches for lunch.

DSC_5250 - Copy We got there early and decided to trek over to the botanical gardens and try out the new splash area. It did not disappoint but we made a few mistakes. First of all, it is a far, far walk to the botanical gardens. Sure, they have a tram but there was a line and we thought, “Oh we can make it.” We had a large shopping bag full of swimsuits and towels, an umbrella stroller and a 4 year old who was too tired to walk the whole way. Mark carried him. I pushed the stroller. A kid carried the massively heavy shopping bag.

We made it to the gardens and then had to search through the gardens to find the splash area. The gardens were beautiful but there was absolutely nothing telling us how to get to the kids area.

Then Ceili Rain stubbed her toe on the brick edging in the garden. It ripped the skin off one of her toes. Did you know that toes can bleed about as bad as lips? Well, they can. Her flip flop was covered. We probably left her dna all over the garden. I had zero band-aids because we left everything in the car but the basics. A brief stop and we wrapped the foot in one of the towels, Mark picked her up (she’s 7 ya’ll…not a light toddler) and made it to the splash area. Mark went with the big kids while I searched for a first aid station only to be told that I had to find a person in a green shirt. In the meantime, Ceili Rain found a sweet park attendee with a band-aid. After she was bandaged up, and everyone was changed, we were all set to go.

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We made a pit stop at the carousel.

And there were lots of tears. Every time we went to the zoo when Emmie had the halo or brace, she refused to ride the animals. She loved the carousel but she was content to sit on a bench and ride around in a circle. So, we would sit and smile at others and wave. But, then we went this time. I started to sit with her on the bench and she said, “No.” And pointed to the animals. She chose a panda bear and smiled and laughed and waved. Mark and I both about lost it. Our little Super Ems was gaining even more confidence. I had to look like an idiot crying while she rode, but if we could only show everyone how far she has come. How many battles she has fought. It was definitely a triumphant moment for us to witness.

I don’t think any of us ever outgrow the carousel!

Then, we finally headed to the sea lion exhibit. And ya’ll. This was so spectacular. They have a viewing area above and below the water and some very social sea lions who were swimming right by the viewing window over and over.