San Diego Zoo!
As we pulled our burnt carcasses out of bed (7:30am of coarse), we wondered how this day would go. All things considered, Seaworld hadn't been to traumatic, surely the zoo would be more low-key.
We decided to get breakfast on the way to the zoo (we wanted to be there right at 9:00am because it was Easter Saturday) so we quickly showered- all was well until Clin and the girls heard a horrific crash from the bathroom while Jackie was showering. Clin and Millie ran in (with Ellis crawling behind like a faithful sheepdog) to find Mom laying in what could only be called a tribute to Janet Leigh in Psycho after Norman Bates had finished her off. It seems that Jackie lost her footing on a loose mat in the tub, and- because her right arm was broken- had no means of catching herself- so she tried to find the most comfortable way to fall. Needless to say, Jackie was only allowed baths after this incident.
After our morning routine was complete, the burnt, lame, bruised and teething Eaton clan were off to the zoo.
It seemed that most of San Diego was there (and we noticed it was already hotter than the day before- mainly because we were more inland) so we headed quickly for the bus tour of the park. Jackie and I enjoyed looking at the animals- Millie was mainly interested in her fruit snacks and Ellis was occupied with her bottle. At one moment, Millie announced she was getting off the bus- and was thoroughly irritated when I stopped her. She did like watching the elephants get fed (mainly because she watched the film Dumbo the week before our trip).
After the bus, we realized we were starving- because we forgot to get breakfast on the way. We walked around the monkey cages and saw two hippos doing an underwater ballet with each other. We waited in line to see the baby panda (we just saw his bum- Millie was occupied with
her candy necklace- Ellis, her bottle).
We decided it was hot and time for a rest- so we went to a small outdoor amphitheatre to see a wild animal show. While we waited for the show to start, Millie did bubbles and I fed Ellis green peas. As the show started, I was trying to reposition Ellis on my lap- causing the bottle of peas to fall on the cement floor, shattering into a thousand pieces- and the plastic spoon (with mashed peas still on it) to fly through the air, landing on a 13 year old Korean girl's shirt. Many apologies were made to all around us- luckily the Korean girl was nice (or she was swearing at me in Korean with a smile on her face).
After this humiliation, it was bathroom time. (Millie Poop-Watch on vacation: 0). I took Ellis into a gross men's bathroom that had a changing table symbol on the outside- only to find that not only did they have no changing table, they didn't have any counters. I briefly considered balancing her on a urinal, but decided against it and changed her outside on my lap in front of people eating lunch. One-armed Jackie took Millie and stood in line for the restroom (where the line was longer than the line to see the baby panda). Of course, once they got inside, Millie pitched a huge tantrum and refused to sit on the potty- and at one point threw herself on the filthy floor and refused to get up. Ellis and I sat outside hearing her screams and nodded in agreement to the elderly gentleman next to us that said, "someone doesn't sound happy."
After that, we realized that we needed to eat. After spending Millie's college education fund on lunch for four at the zoo, we were happier and went to the children's petting area of the zoo. There Millie got to feed a baby goat, stare at a large pig and point at a sheep's private parts. We then decided to end the day with a skyride to the other end of the park- not realizing that the line to take the skyride BACK would again cause skin cancer from standing in the sun.
On the ride back to the hotel, both girls promptly fell asleep- only wake up the moment we stopped the car. Back at the hotel, Millie and I went swimming while Jackie tried to nap (with Ellis being forced to nap).
Being utterly exhausted, we decided we deserved a good meal- I wanted to go to Todai (a yummy all you can eat sushi/seafood restaurant). I had printed the map off of mapquest so off we went- only to get thoroughly lost. After finding the San Diego Costco and several strip malls, Jackie called the restaurant and we were able to find it. Jackie and I gorged on many seafood
delights- while Millie mainly ate jello and soup. Ellis drank her bottle and made friends with an elderly gentleman sitting by himself next to us by drooling at him.
After that, it was back to the hotel for our final night in San Diego. Once again, in bed at 8:30pm on the dot (still no poop from Millie).
As we pulled our burnt carcasses out of bed (7:30am of coarse), we wondered how this day would go. All things considered, Seaworld hadn't been to traumatic, surely the zoo would be more low-key.
We decided to get breakfast on the way to the zoo (we wanted to be there right at 9:00am because it was Easter Saturday) so we quickly showered- all was well until Clin and the girls heard a horrific crash from the bathroom while Jackie was showering. Clin and Millie ran in (with Ellis crawling behind like a faithful sheepdog) to find Mom laying in what could only be called a tribute to Janet Leigh in Psycho after Norman Bates had finished her off. It seems that Jackie lost her footing on a loose mat in the tub, and- because her right arm was broken- had no means of catching herself- so she tried to find the most comfortable way to fall. Needless to say, Jackie was only allowed baths after this incident.
After our morning routine was complete, the burnt, lame, bruised and teething Eaton clan were off to the zoo.
It seemed that most of San Diego was there (and we noticed it was already hotter than the day before- mainly because we were more inland) so we headed quickly for the bus tour of the park. Jackie and I enjoyed looking at the animals- Millie was mainly interested in her fruit snacks and Ellis was occupied with her bottle. At one moment, Millie announced she was getting off the bus- and was thoroughly irritated when I stopped her. She did like watching the elephants get fed (mainly because she watched the film Dumbo the week before our trip).
After the bus, we realized we were starving- because we forgot to get breakfast on the way. We walked around the monkey cages and saw two hippos doing an underwater ballet with each other. We waited in line to see the baby panda (we just saw his bum- Millie was occupied with
her candy necklace- Ellis, her bottle).We decided it was hot and time for a rest- so we went to a small outdoor amphitheatre to see a wild animal show. While we waited for the show to start, Millie did bubbles and I fed Ellis green peas. As the show started, I was trying to reposition Ellis on my lap- causing the bottle of peas to fall on the cement floor, shattering into a thousand pieces- and the plastic spoon (with mashed peas still on it) to fly through the air, landing on a 13 year old Korean girl's shirt. Many apologies were made to all around us- luckily the Korean girl was nice (or she was swearing at me in Korean with a smile on her face).
After this humiliation, it was bathroom time. (Millie Poop-Watch on vacation: 0). I took Ellis into a gross men's bathroom that had a changing table symbol on the outside- only to find that not only did they have no changing table, they didn't have any counters. I briefly considered balancing her on a urinal, but decided against it and changed her outside on my lap in front of people eating lunch. One-armed Jackie took Millie and stood in line for the restroom (where the line was longer than the line to see the baby panda). Of course, once they got inside, Millie pitched a huge tantrum and refused to sit on the potty- and at one point threw herself on the filthy floor and refused to get up. Ellis and I sat outside hearing her screams and nodded in agreement to the elderly gentleman next to us that said, "someone doesn't sound happy."
After that, we realized that we needed to eat. After spending Millie's college education fund on lunch for four at the zoo, we were happier and went to the children's petting area of the zoo. There Millie got to feed a baby goat, stare at a large pig and point at a sheep's private parts. We then decided to end the day with a skyride to the other end of the park- not realizing that the line to take the skyride BACK would again cause skin cancer from standing in the sun.
On the ride back to the hotel, both girls promptly fell asleep- only wake up the moment we stopped the car. Back at the hotel, Millie and I went swimming while Jackie tried to nap (with Ellis being forced to nap).
Being utterly exhausted, we decided we deserved a good meal- I wanted to go to Todai (a yummy all you can eat sushi/seafood restaurant). I had printed the map off of mapquest so off we went- only to get thoroughly lost. After finding the San Diego Costco and several strip malls, Jackie called the restaurant and we were able to find it. Jackie and I gorged on many seafood
delights- while Millie mainly ate jello and soup. Ellis drank her bottle and made friends with an elderly gentleman sitting by himself next to us by drooling at him.After that, it was back to the hotel for our final night in San Diego. Once again, in bed at 8:30pm on the dot (still no poop from Millie).
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