Philly/Bal'mer Day 4.1

Aquarium was lots of fun, but hellish on the already stressed legs. Dolphin show was enjoyable as always through the eyes and rapt expressions of the little ones - in this case Nick and AJ. Funny tho how Carrie and even Katie are still enamoured by them after all these years, and were quick to clamor for attendance at the show.

Seems as if they've almost doubled the size of the Aquarium, and yet it seems smaller than when I was younger. I don't recall how old I was when I was first there, certainly a teenager, but it just seemed to stretch on and on, one aquatic wonder after another. And while my feet would be quick to disagree with me, it all seemed to end rather quickly. Once we actually started on the tour, of course, and outside of bathroom breaks and the like. Gift stores have multiplied, as have cafes, but the quality/variety/quantity of merchandise has improved as well.

(Side note: As I sit here typing before turning in, Katie's talking up a storm again... I need to make sure I warn her prior to her going off to college about the potential downfalls of sleep-talking once one has a roommate...)

Ugh. I ate too much at Phillips. The seafood was sooooo good tho... I had a Mahi-mahi in peach chutney sauce which was to die for. Oh and a crab cake as well. After the cheesy crab dip. And salad. Hmm, wonder why I feel so stuffed...

On the way back from the O's game, we tried to catch the game on the radio (since we had left after the 7th-inning stretch) but the usual 1500AM station was playing some other team... only after going around all the AM stations several times did we realize they were broadcasting the Nationals. Bah. Friggin' traitors. So what if the O's still suck. (Actually that was their only saving grace tonight, that the Royals sucked as badly as they did.)

Best part of the game: A high fly into the upper deck, and none of the fans could hold onto it, so it dropped onto the lower deck. Guy in front of me turns to his buddy and says, "See, even the fans suck."

Second best part of the game: Carrie got into the whole deal so much that whenever they did the "CHARGE!", she was still going "Charrrrrrrggggeeeee" for several seconds afterwards. And she took such pity on the O's batters when they struck out. "Oh that poor guy..." I think we have a better chance of making the girls into baseball fans than football fans, which is fine, at least we can afford baseball tickets...