First Family Vacation (Part 2 - San Antonio)

The second leg of our vacation was spending a few days at Aunt Robbie and Uncle Dave's in San Antonio and of course, a trip to Sea World.

Trace was excited to go to Sea World and kept saying he wanted to see the dolphins and the fish. So after meeting up with our friend Gabi and her family, we made it to Sea World, where the first stop was the dolphins.

Next we check out the shark tanks. Here's a shot of Trace and his new friend Ben checking everything out:

Next up was our first show of the day, the Sea Lions. Trace loved all the shows. He sat there attentive and followed all the action the entire time. This show was a mystery, where the sea lions help solve a big case over who stole all the fish:

Turns out it was the walrus the whole time:

Next up was a special treat, thanks to Gabi, who used to work at Sea World. We were treated to a back stage meet and greet with some of the actors from the show, including meeting a Sea Lion, Elrod. Now, if you ask Trace today if he petted the Sea Lion, he'll probably say yea, but he was actually terrified of it and wouldn't touch it. He clung onto to Ashley each time that we went near it.


It was cool being so close to the sea lions. I've never been that close to them before, and we got to see the trainers in action too. He would make Elrod yelp, he had him talk on someone's cell phone, smile for picture (see pic above) and even blow us kisses and wave bye.

A big thank you to Gabi for hooking us up with such a cool experience. We finished off the day at Sea World with a couple more shows, feeding an alligator, a visit to the splash park, lunch and popsicles, souvenir shopping and last but not least Shamu!

Feeding the gator:
Enjoying another show:
Splash Park:
Lunch and snacks:

Shamu:

Trace had a blast at Sea World, and we really utilized his new umbrella stroller. That was probably our best purchase on the whole trip. It helped Trace catch a good nap before we left the park.

We had dinner with Gabi and her family later that night at the Alamo Cafe, where Trace had his moments at the restaurant. Let's just say that there was a 3-year old, 2-year old, and a baby at the table and only one of them had to be taken outside the restaurant for a talkin' to. I won't name any names but it was the one who enjoys making high pitched yells in public places and whose name is often confused for Chase. It wasn't really a big deal and we had a good dinner with friends.

The next day, Aunt Robbie came home from work early to hang out with us. We decided to check out a little town called Gruene. It's a cool old time antique village with shopping, restaurants, and snacks along a river that's filled with people tubing. It's a cool place and I recommend checking it out if you're in the San Antonio area.

For lunch, we visited the Gristmill and had a nice view of the river from our outdoor seat.

After lunch it was off to shopping where we checked out the General Store (and everyone took the "Love Test." Ashley ended up with the highest score with Hot Stuff, while Aunt Robbie and I could only get to Passionate). Trace got his first cowboy hat and enjoyed a sucker while the ladies shopped and browsed the antiques.

First cowboy hat:

Trying on Indian feathers:

Enjoying his sucker while shopping:

Of course, falling asleep after and missing the toy store :(

The General Story Love Test and dessert:

Thanks again to Aunt Robbie and Uncle Dave for taking us in for a couple of days and showing us around Gruene. We had a great time.

For the last part of our trip, we drove back to Houston (stopping at Buckees along the way to get lunch, beef jerky and another sucker for Trace) and spent another night at Aunt Cookie and Uncle Jim's. Trace got to go to the park again and spent more time playing with Sandy and Zoey, this time with his allergy medication. We woke up the next day and headed for Baton Rouge. A quick stop at Ikea and lunch at Sonic, then we were on our way home.

It was a great vacation, and I know Trace will be able to look back in a few years and hopefully, remember all the fun we had on this trip.