Thursday, April 24, 2008

San Diego Made Me Sick! And Shamu Loves Kenny G


It did, literally. And now I’ve had a nasty cold since Monday. If anybody knows of any good remedies, please share.

We spent the weekend in scenic San Diego with some friends and their now 3-year old daughter, or as my daughter likes to call her “NO! My friend!” She's in this “No - My” stage right now that I'm finding difficult to break. Everything is hers, “No! My Daddy!”, “No! My Car!”, “No! My Princess!”, “No! My *insert pretty much anything*”.

On Saturday we were at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We haven’t been there in about 9-10 years and the place doesn’t look any different - it’s still big, and has a valley full of “wild” animals that have been living in captivity for nearly 40 years. The only part that changed is that they now charge extra for everything in addition to the entry price. So you pretty much pay admission just to use the sidewalks.
My favorite area in the park was this HUGE Slush Puppy wagon near the Lions - I loved these Slushies growing up. I found them to be far superior to 7-11's Slurpees.
Anyhow, after I bought my $6 cup (inflation?) and filled it, the nearby Lions were all staring at me like I suddenly turned into a huge turkey leg. My daughter picked up on it and told them “No! My Slush Puppy!”
And then she experienced her first brain freeze near the African elephants trying to quickly drink about 1 gallon of melting slushy - by the way - trying to explain a brain freeze to a 2-year old is extremely challenging. I stopped trying when everybody around us was talking about this one elephant who was really excited and was dragging ‘it’ on the ground as he walked.

The next day we paid a visit to Sea World. Sea World was much better as the shows and rides were included with the price of admission – how old fashion but very convenient of them. And what made it even better was that none animals were dragging anything around.
As we walked around throughout the day I couldn’t help but to notice Kenny G playing the entire time. It was like somebody left the CD on repeat all day. Later, when I was asking a Hostess where the local Slush Puppy wagon was, I also asked about the Kenny G. She told me (jokingly) that all of San Diego loves him.

Then my daughter said “No! My Kenny G!”

19 comments:

Whirlwind said...

Sounds like a nice weekend.

That poor, poor elephant.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

What is it with elephants showing off their schlongs? I don't get it. Is it a "mine's bigger than yours" kind of thing or "if I show you mine will you show me yours" issue?

Just wondering.

My kids are in the My/Mine stage, too. They're like the friggin' seagulls from "Finding Nemo."

Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

kittenpie said...

Ow. That sounds like a sensitive place for road rash.

And for the cold - drown yourself in a litre of chicken soup, and fullow it with a good couple shots of Drambuie. will kill every germ in your body.

Douglas said...

My Toddler! 2-year old says that all the time. Always good to know we are not alone.

Bruce Johnson said...

A very whimsical and entertaing view of life....almost makes me want to go to San Diego....but the Kenny G thing sort of turned me off. (don't they play him continuously in psych wards?)

The Real Mother Hen said...

Ah Sea World - did you threaten to throw Kenny G inside the tank if he ever plays again? I bet plenty of people would! :)

You may wanna try this - one whole (giant) ginger root, cut into small bits, add some spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cardoman, lemon skins, then boil it for 30 mins - the longer the better. May sweeten it with some honey and add plenty of whisky. Caution - this stuff will cause fire coming out of your ears and mouth!
Disclaimer - I'm not responsible for any side effect :)

BookMamma said...

OMG! This Alabama Girl was ALSO in SD last weekend. It was my first trip to California and it was great, albeit the weather was gray and chilly.

Glad you had a good time!

And your daughter can KEEP Kenny G. Fine by me!

Cheers from the Weekend Blog Hoppers!

Anonymous said...

Her very first brain freeze! A milestone!

Your baby is growing up!

painted maypole said...

ahhh... i remember my daughter's first brain freeze... we were actually just talking about that the other day!

Unknown said...

What a fun weekend! My son is in that No -My stage. But at least he doesn't answer "NO" to everything we ask. Used to be it was "Do you want to have a granola bar smothered in chocolate?" "NO!!!" Now he answers with the nodding of the head and a very long and drawn out "YEEEAAAAAHHHH" LOL!

wayabetty said...

We absolutely loved SD! We were there 2 years ago at Legoland and paid only $40 for a family of 5 (airfares and hotel) that was the best part! We'd love to go back there but still waiting for the hubbie to rack up more travel miles from work.

It's really a double-edged sword, we need the miles but then he has to travel and I'll be solo parenting.

nonlineargirl said...

Great, you can offer to trade her a slushie for kenny g.

Unknown said...

I purposely sought out brainfreeze for my birthday this weekend. Right on!

And did you make it to Legloand? We *loved* it when we visited.

Creative-Type Dad said...

kittenpie -- Drambuie? Wow, I want you to be my doctor.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter -- How funny! My wife and I joke about how our daughter is one of those birds from Nemo too...

The Real Mother Hen -- Yikes! Is that a cure or is that a recipe for moonshine? At this point, I'll try anything...

wayabetty -- What a bargain for $40!! We haven't taken our daughter to legoland yet because everybody keeps telling us wait until she's 3.

nonlineargirl -- That's the best bargain ever. I can see the headlines now "Kenny G (real guy) traded for a slushie."

Ben and Bennie said...

When our oldest was about your daughter's age we also went to an aquarium with another couple and their daughter.

Who knew that Mr. and Mrs. Manatee were some kind of sick exhibitionist couple? Right there in front about a hundred other kids and their horrified parents Mr. Manatee completely humbled me.

"Look Daddy! That fish has a BIG extra fin!"

True story.

11111111 said...

Ya, your daughter can just go ahead a keep Kenny G.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Ben & Bennie -- I don't even know what to say. I think I'll stay away from Manatee's forver.

Carrien Blue said...

uh..no one in my corner of San Diego likes Kenny G.

Considering all the great music that came/comes out of this town it's kind of embarrassing that the tourists are subjected to monotonous smooth jazz the whole time they're here.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Carrien -- I think that's how they get the tourist to leave.