Chapter Twelve #2
Thankfully it was a weekday, and most people were at work, so the crowd was light.
We claimed an area of the beach and laid our towels out on it.
After we snapped a couple of selfies with the ocean in the background, I slathered my boy in SPF50 and off he went, giggling as the waves drenched him.
I dove in and swam a bit, but Jamie didn’t like that at all, so I stayed above water next to him after that.
“Daddy, when I can’t see you, I worry the ocean got you. It scared me.”
“I’m sorry, my love. I will stay here right beside you where I belong.” He visibly relaxed and returned to his digging.
“What are you looking for?”
“I dunno. Just seeing what’s down there.”
Eons of sand, but bursting his bubble I would not be held responsible for.
“Are you getting hungry? I saw a wall of food trucks by the shops.”
“Think they have tacos?”
“Not sure, but why don’t we go see.” I gathered our towels, and we walked toward the wonderfully smelling lunch trucks. Sure enough, my boy got his tacos, and I opted for a burrito, then we found a place to sit and dug in.
“It’s so pretty here, Daddy.”
“Yes, it is. Are you excited about SeaWorld?”
His head bobbed up and down. “Yes, I get to see all the Sloffers.”
“Yes, and a lot of marine life that comes from that very ocean.” We finished eating and disposed of our trash. “Anywhere else you want to go today?”
“Can we put our stuff in the car and check out the shops along the boardwalk?”
“You bet.” We spent a couple of hours popping in and out of shops and picked up a couple of trinkets before we called it a day.
Jamie collapsed on the bed as I sat the bags down. “What a fantastic, relaxing day. You scheduled everything perfectly, Daddy. Is it okay if I go shower?”
“Silly boy, of course it is.” I’m sure he had sand in places he’d rather not mention.
As I unpacked the shopping bags and repacked them in one suitcase, I was glad we each brought an extra one, though one of them was already filled with our new purchases, and we still had two more parks to visit.
I set it aside and stepped into the shower as Jamie came out.
As much as I love the ocean, it was nice to wash it off.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, sweet boy.” He had curled up with Sloffers in one of the hotel robes. Remote in hand, he flipped through the TV stations.
“Tonight, do you think we could order dessert and watch a movie and relax?”
“That sounds wonderful to me.” With the sweet treats ordered, I locked the balcony door and showered. By the time I got out it was delivered and we curled up in bed with our goodies and started the movie. Halfway through it though, we both passed out.
Vacations were meant for resting so falling asleep at eight thirty was justified.
Right?
“What time does SeaWorld open, Daddy?’
“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine.” I tickled him for emphasis. “Is somebody excited?”
“Very, Daddy. But I’m hungry too.”
“Let’s get dressed and eat in the café before we head out, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” His little ass darted over to the dresser, humming as he got dressed. Once the sloth backpack was in place he was ready to roll and waiting by the door. My silly little excited boy.
We had a wonderful breakfast and were more than ready to walk it off. Our first stop once we entered the park was to check in for the Sloth encounter. By the time we got to the area where they held it, Jamie was so excited he could hardly stand still.
“Hello everyone, and welcome. My name is Carrie, and I will be your SeaWorld Ambassador today for the Sloth encounter. Who’s excited?”
All the kids cheered, including Jamie.
“That’s great. The sloth is one of my favorite animals, but they sleep a lot, so please don’t yell and wake them up. You don’t want to scare them, do you?”
“No.” The group whispered.
“Very good. And while you are allowed to take pictures and stand close, you are not allowed to touch them. Let’s form a line and please, follow me inside.”
The sloth enclosure filled with oohs and aahs as the kids glanced up and saw the sloths up in the trees. “Now, who can tell me why sloths spend the majority of their time hanging upside down?”
One boy around the age of ten raised his hand. “Because it’s more comfortable for them.”
“That is the condensed version, but yes. The way their internal organs are situated it’s a much more comfortable position for them to be in.”
“Did you know Sloth’s basically have their own ecosystem within their fur?” She asked them.
Jamie gazed up at me as though asking if I knew and I winked.
“It’s called a microcosm. Algae, insects, and fungi grow within their fur. Not only does the Sloth provide an ideal environment for them to flourish in, but the sloth also benefits from it as well.”
“Come on through and take as many pictures as you’d like. Feel free to ask anyone wearing the same uniform as me any questions you may have.”
We found one hanging just above Jamie’s height and moved toward it. “Daddy, take lots of pictures. I need the perfect one to frame for my playroom.” I took far too many, but he’d have several to choose from.
“Would you like me to take your picture together?” Carrie asked us.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” I handed her my phone, and she took several and then moved onto the next family.
“Daddy, this is something I’ll never forget.” My teary-eyed boy said. “You made one of my biggest dreams come true.”
“Well, I have another surprise for you. Have you taken all the pictures you wanted?”
“Yes, this was so amazing.”
We came out of the sloth encounter, and I led him around the corner to... “Build A Bear! Daddy!” He hugged me and squealed as every other child in the area did the same upon entering the bank account draining store with their parents.
“Pick your animal.” That took far longer than the entire process did, but he finally landed on one.
“We are at SeaWorld, so I need an Orca stuffie to take home. Now, it needs an outfit.” Smart boy, two things in one. Well played.
In the end he made an orca wearing a rainbow tutu and a blue SeaWorld crop top.
All I could do was shake my head and smile.
My boy was happy and that was all that mattered.
After a long day of petting sting rays, cheering on penguins and growling at sharks—yes, my boy growled at a great white to show how badass he was.
Two very tired park attendees made their way back to their hotel and slept like rocks.
The next day we spent lounging by the hotel pool and after dinner we packed our bags for our third, and final leg of the trip, that would be the true test for this Daddy. One crazy huge park and a million children. How does that silly Mouse do it?
I had booked two nights at the Disneyland Hotel, having had the forethought that we’d be too exhausted to walk or drive back to an off-site hotel at the end of the day.
This way we could take the monorail in and out.
We loaded up the SUV, which included Jamie lining the back seat with his new stuffies, who had to share seatbelts, and off we went.
Two hours later, we were finally there and got checked in.
“Daddy look, a Mickey Mouse head.” Jamie decided to point out every hidden Mickey and decoration shaped like the famous Mouse’s head from the time we pulled up to the valet, until we got into our room. And even in there, he found more.
“Our room has Disneyland on the wall. And fireworks on the floor. Daddy!” He spun around. “The lamp has Mickey’s head on it.” He ran into the bathroom and squealed. “Daddy the lamps in here are Mickey’s hands!”
Good lord, if he was this excited about our room, how would he react tomorrow once we entered the park? “Who’s your favorite Mickey Mouse?”
“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” He held his arms out and leaned side to side as he walked. “In Fantasia he carries heavy bucket’s and walks like this, and the water sloshes out of them.”
“Silly Boy. It’s still early, do you want to hit Downtown Disney tonight? Our park tickets are for tomorrow, but we could check this part out now.”
“Yes, please.” He jumped up and down.
We took a stroll through Downtown Disney and of course ended up in the largest Disney Store known to man. Straight to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice display Jamie went. “Daddy!”
“I know, grab the one you want.” No use arguing about stuffies. “Grab the matching beach towel while you’re at it and you can use it at the pool.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
We picked up a couple of things for Henry and Chase, and I also purchased a Disneyland picture frame.
I had picked up one from each park so I could put a favorite picture of us from each park in the appropriate one to display at home.
From there we chose a restaurant to eat at, then after dinner, we brought some sweet treats from the chocolatier before calling it a night.
“Jamie, here’s the map of Disneyland.” He hopped up on the bed beside me to see the iPad. “What do you want to see first tomorrow?”
“Let’s do a circle again, start to finish so we can see it all. What about you, Daddy. Where do you want to go?”
“Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge for me. Those are the movies I can watch on repeat.” I remember my parents introducing them to me when I was younger. I have been a huge fan ever since.
“That will be so much fun. I’m excited for Main Street where they have the parade and toon town. But I want to see everything.”
“We will do our best, sweet boy. Now, it’s time to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us.”
There were no words for the madness we entered.
This was every child’s dream and every parent’s nightmare.
From the long lines to get into the park to the wall of bodies you had to navigate your way through.
Never had I been happier to have a boy that didn’t ride any rides.
Those lines had two hour waits for them.
“Jamie, please hold my hand.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I swear we stopped at every store, every candy stand, every everything. We took pictures in front of the castle and with characters, but when we got to my stop it was like I had become the Little in this relationship.
Jamie laughed, “I like Little Daddy.”
“This is my jam.”
“Your jam? Nobody says that anymore.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “Silly Daddy.”
We snagged the last spot to make your own light saber, and I swear that was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.
My saber would hang on our living room wall like a piece of art.
Jamie took my picture in front of the Millenium Falcon, and with a stormtrooper, and we had lunch at the Cantina. I was in heaven.
“I like smiley Daddy.”
“Thank you for humoring me during the wild trip through my childhood.” I had purchased a couple of souvenirs for home, including a killer coffee mug that was designed to look like the interior of the Millenium Falcon and easily held two cups of the magical elixir.
“On to Toon Town!” Jamie announced right as we finished lunch.
My cute Little popped in and out of every house and posed for pictures the entire time.
I had too much fun taking them and smiling at his silly antics.
We breezed through Fantasyland, but Tomorrowland he stopped to pose for pictures with Buzz Lightyear and Woody.
The plan was to stay for the parade, and watch the fireworks, and by the time we got through every section of the park they were setting up Main Street for it.
As we watched the fireworks that lit up the castle, my sweet boy turned and hugged me. “Someday Daddy, I’m gonna marry you right here in front of the princess castle and all our friends will be with us.”
“You are, are you?”
“Yup, I am.”
That’ll be one expensive ass wedding.