San Antonio Trip

Thursday afternoon, we left for our first family road trip - our first trip ever as a family. Quinn has never been out of town at all, and it was his first time to stay at a hotel, too. It was a great trip, all-in-all. I had been wanting to go to San Antonio for a while because I knew the boys would love Sea World. It also worked to our benefit that Quinn gets in free because he's under 2, Banner got in free with a Preschool Pass, and I got in free with a Teacher Pass. Sam was the only one we had to pay for - and with his Texas bar discount, we got him a ticket + all day dining for only $74.  We just had to take advantage of this great deal!

So, as I was saying, Thursday afternoon, we left for San Antonio. The trip took about an hour more than it should have because we got caught in horrible stand-still traffic about an hour and a half in to the drive. Quinn had fallen asleep - and slept for about 45 minutes before we were just parked on the highway. He woke up once the car stopped, so I think he sensed that we weren't moving anymore. Unfortunately, our plans to eat dinner on the Riverwalk or maybe take a riverboat were out since we arrived too late in the evening. So, we headed straight for the hotel (Omni Hotel) after picking up a quick bite to eat in the car. These boys were so giddy in the hotel room. Quinn really liked being there - and he copied every silly thing Banner did. They were bouncing on the beds, climbing on and off of them, then running around naked before bath. It was hilarious and so cute.

The next day, we were up early and went to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, we headed to Sea World. Unfortunately, it was raining, but we stuck it out and it let up shortly after we arrived. It would sprinkle from time to time, but mostly, it was clear, thank goodness. :)

Ready for our fun day - waiting for the first show ("Pets Ahoy") to begin

Clyde & Seamore

Quinn adores Elmo and Abby - but he was a little overwhelmed and cried on the stage with them!

One of my favorite moments, though, was after Quinn got off the stage from crying and he wanted to just stare at these characters. He kept waving to his "friends" saying, "Hi, Elmo!" "Hi, Abby!" "Hi, Ernie." And he couldn't make himself leave! It was precious. It kind of broke my heart as a parent, though, to see him so scared of them up so close but to desperately want their attention. He had a hard time walking away and then kept waving goodbye to each of them. Sweet Abby was waving to him and that made it harder for him to leave. I kind of wanted to let him stay in that moment forever too!

But, it was on to other things. This was Quinn's first ride, and then they played more at the Bay of Play before eating lunch at Rosita's Cafe. SO FUN!

Then, we went to another show, Azul:

In the splash zone, but hiding under Mommy's rain coat!

Next, the boys played at the Bay of Play splash area for a bit before we took a break for an ice cream snack. I couldn't get enough of the giggles and sweet smiles I was seeing!

And, then we were ready for more splash park fun! More giggles, squeals, and getting drenched!

The water was pushing his trunks down, and he'd run over to us and say, "Look at my tushy!"

And, then, one last show: One Ocean. We finally saw Shamu... well, all of us but Quinn. He passed out before the show even started.

Then, we saw the penguin encounter, the alligator exhibit, and fed some fish. And, then, we decided to head home. It was going to be dinner time soon, and we had put in 7 1/2 hours, and we were exhausted.

Negotiating when it will be his turn again with the bubble gun.

That evening, we stopped in to Mama Margie's for a quick Mexican dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a much needed night's rest. The next morning, Saturday, we wanted to stop by the Alamo before leaving San Antonio. I showed a couple videos to the boys before we got there so at least Banner could try to understand what we were seeing. He was interested in the guns and swords and knives we saw. Then, we headed to Austin to see our friends, Scott & Bertina, to have lunch with Uncle Trey, and to see his brand new store, Room 5 - very impressive!

And that was that! A successful trip! I had a lot of fun, and just like after most trips I take, I was sad it was over. The weather could have been better, and some of the places we were excited about at Sea World were closed for renovations (like Dolphin Cove where you can feed fish to the dolphins and the Coral Reef exhibit), but we got over that pretty quickly and enjoyed the places and sights that were available. The boys did great - got along wonderfully (except immediately after we bought them only one Shamu bubble gun!) and seemed to truly enjoy each other. I'm really proud of us for finally taking a trip with the boys and getting out of our comfort zone. I'm proud of us for being in the moment, for knowing our limits and how to best plan this trip, and for enjoying it! Can't wait to do it again!