BLDY&McGoo What Are We Thankful For 2016 – Day 13 – Seaworld, Longhorns, Crazy Golf & Shopping

[BLDY&McGoo]

BLDY&McGoo What Are We Thankful For 2016 – Day 13 – Seaworld, Longhorns, Crazy Golf & Shopping

Today was our last full day of our holiday which always brings with it some sadness. In some ways I was looking forward to returning home to see our furry feline friends and sleep in my own bed but the other half of me was dreading going back to the cold weather and busy days at work. We also had the pain of paying off some of the holiday as it had been so last minute but more painfully the fact we had no idea when we would be back to Florida again or even on holiday anywhere as our future house purchase and getting Scott's Classic Mini roadworthy needed to be our focus. Holidays and making memories are very important but we had been procrastinating enough over the last few years and it was time we put our adult heads on.
That said it is now the middle of Feb, the Mini is coming along nicely although still not ready but as I still haven't passed my driving test yet there is still some time. Although an expensive choice for a second car I'm a sucker for agreeing to anything that makes Scott happy and I can think of a lot worse hobbies he could take an interest in like Hookers and Drugs.

So back to this lovely sunny Florida morning where I lay in bed contemplating life and what makes me happy. It was around 8:30am so I took myself off to the spare room leaving Scotty asleep whilst I packed a few more bits away in our holdalls.

After a little while I went off downstairs and settled on my usual spot on the sofa to eat my breakfast of Dads leftover brownie from Toothsome and a glass of my lactose free milk.
I did the usual Facebook, TV and Bejewelled combo that had become a nice little routine of mine during which Dad & Kim had come down to enjoy some reading and coffee morning of their own.
At some point Scott surfaced from the depths of the duvet so we all discussed what would be our plan of the day. We had yet to use the Seaworld section of our Discovery Cove Ultimate tickets so figured that today would have to be the day to visit, as Seaworld is a half day park we knew we would just need a few hours which was ideal as could free up a bit of time for some crazy golf that we were all keen to do before we leave.

We all got ourselves ready and were in the car at 11:40am ready and after an uneventful journey we arrived at the gates at 12pm on the dot.
The car park was looking quite empty considering it was now midday so we parked up in Inspiration 24 and headed to the entrance.
They were advertising a trial for face detection entry which is due to be rolled out but none of us could quite see how this would work on such a large scale but we were happy to oblige to our faces being scanned then made our way through bag check and the full body scanners.

Within seconds of being in the park we left Kim on a sunshine filled wall and headed straight into Manta which was advertising a 10 minute wait. It was effectively a walk on as we only waited for the next ride and were soon being seated.

This was the one ride that we were concerned Dad would struggle with but he was fine despite the unusual angle and we were soon whizzing around the track. I felt a bit déjà vu here as back in 2009 this had been one of the first rollercoasters I had done, I was really scared so both Scott & Dad had held my hand as we sped off only for me to let go so I could hold on to my seat restraint as I felt I had to hold on tight. It was one of those moments that just stuck in my head as being memorable, I think it's where I really felt part of Dad’s family, that he thought of me like a daughter, I've always felt that was an important moment of acceptance.

Back on solid ground we located Kim and went into the Aquarium where we spent some time looking at the funky fishes. The rays were being fed with something resembling a protein shake above us which was interesting and the man gave us a wave as we watched.

We then walked round to a Dolphin Cove where we were disappointed to see that you can no longer feed them like we had done on previous visits. We watched them play with some toys and splash each other which was sweet before moving onto the underwater viewing area.

Next stop was the Manatee area where we looked at the rehabilitation tanks too as they were being fed an awful lot of romaine lettuce.
I wanted to see the turtles as they are my fave but the only way I. Pull work out to get to them was to go to Turtle Trek which made me feel really sick last time so was not an option!

We decided not to get wet on Journey to Atlantis but instead Scott spent $3 on shooting the water cannons as people went past and got plenty of enjoyment without getting soaked himself.

Kraken was next up but just the boys this time, I was feeling better now after my lactose issue the last few days but I just wasn't fussed by riding today, I just wasn't feeling it so enjoyed the rest in the sunshine with Kim.

We watched as a couple of rides passed snapping away to try and get an action shot of the boys and eventually they came past, it turns out they had waited an extra ride to get the back row.

We were planning on the 2pm showing of One Ocean so headed in that direction in search of something to snack on whilst we walked.
There was a hot dog cart near the pearl diving area so after waiting for a really sappy woman in front getting beyond confused with her order we grabbed 3 Nathan’s hot dogs paying a whopping $24.89 Wowza!

They were individually wrapped but weren't particularly desirable but the filled a small hole. Scott is not a hot dog lover so he refrained from joining the rest of us in our overpriced snack as he was in search of something specific.
We asked at another stall and were told that Funnel cakes were served over at Shark treats which was on our way so Scott and I went ahead whilst Dad & Kim sauced up their dogs.

We paid $6.70 for a sugared funnel cake and waited a few minutes for it to be ready. Scott ate it but was very disappointed, apparently they did not compare to Disney’s version from 2013 at all. I've said it before but The food in Seaworld & Busch Gardens is really poor, everything we have ever tried has been over priced and really poor quality. We grabbed a Sprite from a cart ($3) before the stadium and Scott said it tasted iffy so most of it went to waste, We just stuck with our iced water from our rucksack.

We arrived at Shamu stadium with 10 minutes to spare climbing high to the very top to get a good view. I struggle with watching this show but feel obliged to at the same time, today would be the last time we would ever get to see it as it was soon to come to the end of its run and take another format. I like watching the whales do their thing don't get me wrong but I spend the time wondering what they feel about their lives and then start thinking how it must have been to have been a witness to Dawn Brancheaus accident for the people sitting in this very stadium in 2010.

We watched and I felt as if it was the right time to end the show, the screens had damaged pixels and the stadium just wasn't designed to excite viewers as the focus was meant to be on the clever whale dancing in the water with a trainer not a bunch of rigid people clapping to music at the side of the water.

It finished at 2:25pm so we made our way back down the bazillion steps and then headed straight onto the brand new Mako ride, without Kim obviously. Another walk on which was surprising but a really enjoyable ride. It's a hard ride to describe but has lots of drops that make your stomach feel like it's falling out, I did lots of girly squealing I must admit.

We still had time before our next show so we wandered through Shark Encounter to kill some time. It was a little tainted because the walk way was broken so it meant lots of people selfishly huddled around blocking the way but we saw some sharks and some incredibly ugly looking fish.

Clyde and Seamore’s Sea Lion High was new for us as we had previously only seen the pirate island version, we took seats up high again so we could see the whole stage which was really well set up. The format of the show is similar to its predecessor with the same sort of tricks etc but was just as enjoyable. The pre show guy with the signs was quite funny and as always the animals didn't always do as they were told which always get a few extra laughs.

The show was on for about 15-20mins and we had now deciding it was time for us to leave. As we headed to the exit we spotted an iPhone, sun glasses and lots of loose change in the netting above. When they say no lose articles they really do mean it people!

As we were passing and it was still a walk on the boys returned to Manta for round two whilst Kim and I tried to get a good photo. The sun was scorching still despite it being 4pm so I snapped away barely being able to see but sadly didn't get anything worthwhile of actually being able to tell where they were.

We exited via the gift shop where no purchases were made and were grateful to sit down in the airconned car.

Having only had a rather poor excuse for a snack earlier we decided we would enjoy dinner a little earlier today so chose Longhorns on Vineland avenue for our last evening meal, I was pleased to return to this location as it had been where Scott & I had eaten the evening of our wedding.

We were seated immediately at 4:50pm and soon served the delicious bread that I could eat loaves of if given the chance. We were asked if we wanted our photo taken an a complimentary gift so obliged but it took a long time for them to come round so didn't actually get it until our food was covering the table making it look a bit messy.

Scott had the 20oz Porterhouse, I had the cowboy pork chops whilst Dad and Kim both chose the chicken and strawberry salad.

The food was good as always but in hindsight I should have had a Flos filet as I was running out of opportunities for good steak!

Our photo was delivered alongside the bill $97.99 (Left $120 - $60 Each) and we waddled back to the car and drove over to Pirates Cove golf which is just over the road.

As we parked up a woman with a puppy was near the entrance. She got into a conversation with Kim who is a huge dog lover and told her the little pup had parvovirus which immediately got Kim's back up. Scott & I kept walking and a man who was just leaving very kindly gave us 2 free games token. It seems that the conversation got a bit heated with Kim giving this woman a piece of her mind, it was obviously all a con to try to get tourists to give her money which she would no doubt spend on herself. The whole thing angered Kim and she gave the guy at the desk a bit of a ear bending about how they should call the police and get that woman's removed. Poor little pup doesn't deserve to be used like that, poor thing.

We paid around $13 per couple as we had a token each off the kind man, grabbed our putters and balls trying to forget about the doggy incident. We spent a good hour playing and it was really enjoyable. There was, as always, slight arguments on the rules, plenty of banter and a couple of issues where the ball left the green and ended up in the stream. I was trusted with the score keeper and despite a few debates it was pretty neck and neck.

Pirates Cove is one of the best golf courses in my opinion, it's really pretty and has a lot of detail with caves and water features and a really good way to spend some family time.

Dad was the proud winner with 56, Scott blew it on the 17th hole so ended on 63, Kim got 76 & I took the glory for the most points at 77. At the end we were also given a token for a free game although I can't quite remember why, possibly because Dad had got a hole in 1 but I'm not sure.
We happily took a selfie with Mr Pirate which is one of my favourite photos of our trip, we are all really happy and relaxed but more importantly we are together.

It had just turned 7pm but we decided we weren't ready to go home yet, where else would we go but shopping! It was starting to get quite tedious I must admit but for some reason we couldn't stop ourselves making more purchases we probably didn't need but we were quite restrained and just visited a few shops.

2x Ralph Lauren t shirts for me - $29.82
An Adidas hoody for Scott - $21.28
A Pair of Under Armour Jogging Bottoms for Scott - $37.26

We also spent a couple of dollars on a bottle of Lemonade before leaving the outlets at around 9pm heading towards home.

We stopped in at Walgreens as I had a bite on my ankle that was annoyingly itchy, I picked up some cream as well as a couple of other bits spending $15.26

Having had our dinner early we were ready for dessert today and where else would we visit but Twistee Treat.

We ordered 2 ice creams, 2 milk shakes and a brownie boat between us ($22.84 Our Treat) and settled down at a table as we had done before. Being later in the evening it was quite chilly out but we sat laughing away talking about our holiday and how much we had all needed the break before climbing back in the car and driving home.

It was about 10pm but we stayed up packing and eventually headed to bed around 11:30pm to enjoy one last sleep in our holiday bed.


Spends

Food - $118.43
Shopping - $103.62
Other - $13 (Golf)

Total - $235.05

[collybird]

That's actually a lovely picture of you all together! My mum came on holiday with us last year and wouldn't get in any photos, we have zero photographic evidence that she has ever been to Florida, nevermind with us haha.

[jojo82]

Aw the end of the holiday

Enjoyed reading along over the last few days!

You guys did some serious shopping. Some fab purchases.

I have a go pro that I really need to figure out how to use before our next trip. Your pictures off it look really good.

Fab report

[WileyCoyote]

Ah thats a lovely day, love Seaworld, more shopping and longhorns - omg , its just about perfect.

[disneytrio]

Longhorns , perfect last meal. Sounds like a wonderful last day!