The Rest of the Trip Went Like This

After a day full of too! many! people! at Disney, Jami and I couldn't cope with the thought of dealing with similar crowds at Universal Studios on Saturday, so we pondered...

We thought about heading over to Catalina Island to try out a (new?) zip line tour, but according to their website, they only had one opening. (Blast! We both got excited at the idea of zip lining...although one of us was more panicked about it than the other; I shan't say who.)

We ended up driving to Long Beach to have a look-see at the Aquarium of the Pacific. (Jami had never been to an aquarium, and I happen to LOVE them; win/win!)

dory and nemo. times a thousand.

for some reason,  these fish made me think...floral thoughts

bright

love this picture. a lot, a lot.

this little guy is called a "white's tree frog"
jami and i think he looks almost exactly like liver.

starfish!!

jump, sea lion!

king crab. scary beyond all reason.

here we see jami petting a shark.
i was too scared. get over it.

proof that i was actually there.
in front of the shark tank.
not as brave as actually petting one, i'm painfully aware...

weedy sea dragon

leafy sea dragon

Take note: I touched a manta ray. There were a bunch of manta rays swimming around with the little sharkies, and I totally touched one. Can't say that I enjoyed it, but I did it. (And, yes, Jami touched both a manta ray and a shark. That's hardly the point. This is my blog, and I'm bragging about me touching a manta ray. And disliking it.)

After we saw everything there was to see at the Aquarium of the Pacific, we took a shuttle on over to the Queen Mary for a look-see and a guided tour. -I thought we had bought tickets for the haunted tour, but I was wrong; we got the behind-the-scenes tour, which was interesting and informative, and I feel quite certain I've forgotten most of what our tour guide told us. (The Queen Mary is now a hotel, and I think it'd be fun to take the haunted tour at night before staying the night there. But not without a husband, because I am one major chicken. Still, though, doesn't that sound like fun??)

blurry picture on the shuttle.

jami in front of the queen mary

me. posing. weirdly. because i can't be normal in a picture when i'm by myself?

i'd make a super captain, yes??

jami owns it more than i do, i must say...

jami bunkin' it

the bunks are even less comfortable than they look
(and i can say that with authority. obviously.)

our knowledgeable tour guide, zack.
(why do i remember his name? must be the mustache)

 After the guided tour and then wandering around a bit on our own (see: bunk bed pictures above), we made our way back to Uncle Jack and Aunt Ramona's house, where we relaxed and ate another splendid meal. 

On Sunday, we slept in a bit, got ready for the day, and went to church. Then we may or may not have gone to dinner at a tasty sea food place (according to Uncle Jack, Aunt Ramona, and Jami; I had a BLT+guac sandwich. Maybe.) And we may or may not have headed to LA to look around a bit that evening?

We definitely came back to Jack and Ramona's to relax, and we definitely caught the last hour and a half of the Oscars. (So glad that Meryl Streep won! I want her to win, every single time she's nominated! Oh, and was her acceptance speech so classy and sweet? I love that she thanked her husband, and gave him credit for everything that means anything to her, and...oh, it was wonderfully sweet.)

Aaaaand that's that. The next morning (Monday, Monday), we left Sunny California behind and headed back to Cold and Snowy Idaho.

I miss California...