California, Day 2

Today is moving day for Bre, so I thought I'd get to my computer a bit early and post about our 2nd day in San Diego… Sea World! The last time we were at Sea World, it was in Texas, before Sophie was born. Sabrina was still in her stroller, and Bre got to pet dolphins.. but this time, 16 years later and in California, the park was much larger, with more rides and shows – and no Annheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses. :(  (If they were there, we didn't see them.)

Of course, the star of the park was there (no, not you, Mike)…

(This is the picture Sophie got…)

After Shamu's show, we went to a Cirque du Soleil performance on the other side of the park. If you're not familiar with Cirque shows, they're a twist on a usual circus, taking acrobatics and strange creatures to a new level. They have several different themes to their shows now (my favorite show is Ka, performed in Las Vegas), and will usually prep the crowd by doing a mini pre-show with odd characters. This day was no exception, and when two "clowns" came out, everyone was fascinated. They started moving through the crowd, teasing people and speaking in a strange language in gravelly voices. One of them started making their way toward our side of the arena, and when he laid eyes on Mike, he froze. Suddenly he pointed at Mike, and in a booming voice, yelled, "PAPAaaaa!!!!"

Oh no.

Say it isn't so.

He's going to make Mike the star of the park.

He pulled Mike from his seat and dragged him to the front of our section. He then started rolling up Mike's shirt sleeves, all the while speaking in his strange growly gibberish…

After he got his sleeves rolled up, he then coaxed Mike into mimicking him in various muscle-man moves. Mike obliged, but at the risk of actually embarrassing Mike (is that even possible?), I'll refrain from showing the photos. Trust me, though… it was as if we were watching Hulk Hogan in a WWF warm-up.

After the man-roars ceased, the clown shook Mike's hand, and Mike was ready to breathe a sigh of relief that it was all over…

However, if you'll notice the clown's left hand, you'll see that he wasn't quite ready to let Mike sit down…

Off he dragged poor Mike, to the middle of the arena. Once there, he started showing Mike some crazy karate-like moves, and had him repeat them…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, the second clown was harrassing another audience member, and eventually he was dragged to the front as well. He's the guy in the orange shirt, behind Mike…

They were each coached in these odd fighting moves, and had to perform them for the audience. (Btw, the girls were mortified, and I believe I overheard Breanna say, "My life is ruined.") After learning their moves, they were told to face each other and duke it out in slow-motion with the techniques they'd just learned…

It was quite hilarious when they were told to face each other, bc Mike was so burly compared to the kid standing in front of him. I felt like a Philistine watching the battle of David and Goliath.

In the end, the audience was satisfied that they were both declared winners…

…and Mike was finally allowed to return to his seat, where he was greeted him with cheers and high-fives from the audience members on our side… (Btw, they kept the orange-shirted kid up there and made him squeeze into a large plastic floating ball.)

You were a good sport, sweety. 😉

After our Sea World adventures, we headed back out to the parking lot to hunt for our car, and we spotted this crazy van covered in stickers. The driver was a mom, talking on the phone to someone – most likely whoever she was supposed to be picking up at the park. The girls decided they wanted to have their picture taken in front of it, so they all ran over to it before the lady could drive away. I was horrified, bc obviously this woman's van was not part of the day's attractions, but I quickly snapped their photo before the lady could get out of her car and tell them to get the blankety-blank away from her vehicle. It's a blurry shot bc I didn't have time to change my camera settings, but you get the idea…

I gave them the thumbs-up sign (which is what I always do to let them know I took the photo; this saves them from continuing to stand there smiling), and they scurried off, giggling as if they'd pulled some sneaky prank.

After we located our car, it was off to dinner at this popular joint:

…and then back to the hotel. Mike and Soph decided to go for a late-night swim, and I followed along with my camera…

On the way back to the room, I took a photo of the marina, but it doesn't do it justice. It's such a quiet place at night, compared to the hustle of it all in the sunlight…

Day 2 was lots of fun. And Mike, your performance at Cirque du Soleil was your 15 minutes of fame, then I'm sorry. I know you were hoping for more of a Bruce-Lee-type experience.