SeaWorld - San Antonio!

Many of you may know that Ryan is a Bear scout in the Emmott Elementary Cub Scout Pack 1614 - even though he no longer attends Emmott.  We've been in this pack for several years and we love it!

Cub Scouts have two fundraisers - pocorn in the fall, and Scout Fair Coupon Books in late winter/early spring.  Earlier this year, he was one of 6 boys in the Soaring Eagle district to sell more than 212 books - and the only Cub Scout!  As a reward, he received four tickets to SeaWorld San Antonio and hotel accommodations!  Way to go!

Summer got by us and early fall was just as busy - but we were able to take a family trip last weekend and use those tickets - boy, did we have fun!

We left Houston Saturday morning, stopped at Potter Pecan in Schulenberg and supported the local economy -- they had new crop pecans -- how can you resist??  (Chocolate covered pecans are just delicious!)  After our stop there, we stopped at Buc-ee's, then continued on our way.

It was a gray day - not much sun at all but temps were nice, and there were no mosquitos!  Sea World has a way with decorating for Christmas that makes you feel like you are in a colder place -- not too much "Texas" Christmas decorations, but beautiful poinsettias and trees wrapped with lights - they even had a grove of trees that were lit like candy canes!  The park was beautifully lit at night and was a sight to see.

We rode the Rio Loco -- two times since we did not get more than two drops of water on each of us the first time!  We did get significantly more water on the second time!  Lines were non-existent and the crowds didn't really show up until evening.  We saw the Shamu show, the beluga whale and dolphin show and had a blast. 

Sunday morning dawned just as gray as Saturday, but we made our way to downtown San Antonio and went explore the Alamo and environs.  Last time we were at the Alamo, Ryan chased squirrels and while tempted to do so again, he refrained!  We found out that the Alamo gift store will undergo major renovations early next year so we'll have to come back!  We walked along the River Walk and saw ducks, river taxis and pretty umbrellas.

Take a peek at our pics.....click here

We'll be heading back to Yellowstone for more adventures in the snow - stay tuned!

Wishing you and your family the merriest holidays!

Chuck, Marie, Rachel & Ryan

SeaWorld - "Best Day Ever!"

Yesterday we went to the USS Midway and spent the day inspecting the flight deck and the planes there.  Afterward, we toured the North Bay on a harbor tour.  Before heading back to the hotel, we made a quick stop at one of my favorite stores - Ghirardelli Chocolates!  Don't ask me to share my Hazelnut Crisps though!

Today we went to SeaWorld and saw orcas, dolphins, pilot whales, birds, birds, and more birds.  We rode a few rides, saw a few shows, and as we departed, Rachel said "this was the best day ever!".....we just smiled at each other!

http://featherstonfamilyfrolics.shutterfly.com/pictures

Above is a link to our pictures ..... I added to the album I created earlier this week.

Tomorrow we're off to San Diego Zoo ... and maybe the Scripps Aquarium....

Have fun - we're having the "best days" ever!  :)

Joshua Tree National Park & San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Check out the pics of our journey through Joshua Tree National Park as well as Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument and then San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

http://featherstonfamilyfrolics.shutterfly.com/pictures#n_5

We're off to more adventures.....more pics later!

Fun in the Sun (and melting in the Desert Heat!)

Our Summer Vacation..... Started planning in April and it FINALLY got here in July! We left Houston on Monday on an early flight and arrived in San Diego around 8:30 a.m. Got the rental car and we were off to explore the coastline. We've already done a lot -- visited Channel Islands National Park (only 250,000 people make the visit each year!) and saw dolphin pods playing with the boat as well as sea lions resting on channel markers.

We even found Mother Nature's welcome to us.....we found many feathers among the rocks!

Here's the view we had once the boat departed the dock .... and left us to explore Santa Cruz Island for several hours.

We saw many interesting things - from this gull who discovered that her pedicure had been scuffed during her picture perfect landing..... to a really cool shadow of a plant on a small rock.....

to this "bear" found among the discarded leaves of one of blue gum eucalytpus trees near the picnic area.

this is a close-up of the detail of bark on one of the blue gum eucalyptus trees on the island .....

We hiked a portion of the trail on the island that belongs to The Nature Conservancy and found a small "house" created as a lookout when the island belonged to private citizens.

There was a cattle farm previously (bldg has 1887 on it!).

After making it back to the boat landing area we had a picnic then scoured the beach for "treasures". While there is the policy to "take only pictures, leave only footprints" we added our "finds" to the table that showcased finds from other visitors.

 

We were treated to the arrival of the supply ship from the National Park Service which is the only way that occupants of the island get supplies.  This ship had quite a cargo on it!

After the supply ship departed, our "Island Adventure" arrived to return us to the main land.  What a day it was.....lots more photos to be uploaded ... check back later!