After a few rides Kristen and Brian had to head back to Austin and Uncle Jack & Aunt Jo headed home to get out of the heat. We decided to beat the heat inside the aquarium.
What have we got?
Root canal, and by the looks of those X-rays, it's not going to be pretty.
What did he use to open?
A Gator-Glidden drill. He seems to be favoring that one lately.
I don't recall what these guys were called, but it looks like they have gold flakes all over them. Maybe we'll have to come up with a name. Ummm...is "goldfish" taken?
Back in September, when Evan had a big scar on his forehead I would totally make a big Harry Potter reference here. But, since the ER doc did such a nice job and you can barely see the scar, I guess I can't.
It's a good thing they get along so nicely. It would be a shame if that glass disappeared and that snake slithered away.
See - I didn't make a big Harry Potter reference. I made a little one.
They had a sting ray tank where not only could you walk around the outside and touch them, they had a little porthole underneath where you can get a fisheye view of them.
The biggest draw the Aquarium is pitching (aside from the fish, that is) is a White Tiger. His enclosure is pretty cool, and clearly a nice place for a nap.
After we finished wandering around the exhibit trail we found ourself in - wait for it - a gift shop! We were pretty disappointed in their merchandise. Most of the shirts, picture frames, etc merely said "Aquarium" on them. Very few had "Houston". We did find a few shirts for the kids to remember their visit, but overall, we were underwhelmed with the variety.
After the gift shop, Madison said she was ready to ride the Lighthouse Dive. It's a pretty simple ride - the haul you up to the top, then drop you. She kept eyeing it all day, waffling if she wanted to ride it or not. She finally worked up the nerve and wanted to ride, so we got in line.
She was very excited once we got buckled in.
Thumbs up and excited to go!
And right about here is where she decided she
didn't want to ride. Didn't want to ride at all.
The whole way up and down (and up and down again, and up and down again, and finally up and down one last time) she was saying she didn't want to do it. I tried to keep her calm and pointed out different buildings and things to look at, but it wasn't helping much.
Finally, it ended and we walked away unscathed. I asked what she though. She said she liked it, but didn't want to ride it again.
Evan checking out Houston
They had a splash pad with fountains for the kids to cool off in. We changed the kids into swimsuits and let them run around a bit. Meanwhile, they had a DJ there spinning tunes, leading games, and entertaining the kids.
Hey Tim - you think you can add balancing on a board on a ball while hula hooping to your list of tricks?
After a bit in the fountains, we had some hotdogs & slushies from their snack stand. It was then on to another ride on the Ferris Wheel, where the kids asked me to hold their slushies.
Finally, we decided to take a horse drawn carriage ride around Downtown Houston. Several of these had set up shop on the street outside of the Aquarium and the kids had been eyeing them up all afternoon.
Horse drawn carriage and flowers are very romantic. Evan thinks romance is ickey.
Mommy & Daddy, however, were really enjoying it.
After the carriage ride, we did one more trip on the train, where the driver stopped in the shark tank, then wandered around offering to take pictures. Such a nice guy!
Finally, it was time to head back to the car. Here's Madison carrying her new white tiger.
It had been a pretty long day in the heat, and were all wiped out. We drove back to Jo's house, had a nice relaxing evening and turned in for the night.
Up Next: Space ships in the morning, not golfing in the afternoon.
Well played, Bambi. Well played.
