quantum leap
2012 is not just the end of the Mayan calendar, it is also a leap year and today is that extra day inserted to keep us ticking along nicely. Late last year I worked on the timezone change for the island of Samoa when they moved the international date line so that they are now on the Australian side of the line rather than the American side. Whilst working on that I was quite interested to read that they don’t just have leap years but also Leap Seconds to cater for solar time drift (the next leap second is due in June of this year). Anyhow, to celebrate the extra day of February 29th we did what we always do on leap years that coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar; we spent the day at Seaworld.
It was dry but a little windy – which made it cold. The kids were well wrapped up but I was in shorts and t-shirt (which was the opposite way round from when they were wet and cold at Disneyland). We took in a few shows, IrishWrath was laughing so hard at the sea-lion’s show I had to check who was making all the noise (it was him). We had seen the Dolphin show in Florida last year, but it is excellent and well worth a second viewing. There are human acrobatics and dolphin acrobatics, followed by some birds flying through the air (non-acrobatically).
Watching the children watch the sea lions
We went through several Aquaria (not sure that is the correct plural of Aquarium) and had a look through the rock pool where IrishMum was the only one brave enough to pick up a star fish. We ended the visit with several rides on a shipwreck rapids; a raft where passers-by can pay cash to fire water at people in the raft. Only one of our party did not go on this ride, she instead stayed on dry land whilst we got soaked. The children suspected that IrishMum was one of the passers-by firing water at us, but the evidence was inconclusive (I reckon that IrishKing could get his criminal side from his mother).
