The recent news of a Sea World of California orca trainer being “attacked” by one of the park’s captive killer whales hits close to home. During my early-to-mid teens, I spent nearly every weekend and school holiday at Sea World of Texas in San Antonio. I was a loner, but I didn’t go to the park to be away from people (it was crowded, anyway!), but rather to be near the cetaceans, particularly the killer whales (Orcinus orca). Their grace, power and intelligence remain unmatched among all the species I have had the pleasure of observing in person, either in the wild or in captive settings like Sea World or public zoos.

So, the local weather gurus are saying a blue norther is on its way to our fine Alamo City in the next 24 hours. It’ll be thirty or so degrees cooler than today’s temperatures… still a “balmy” 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and between 30-35 degrees overnight!

Meanwhile, our favorite vacation destination — Estes Park, Colorado (”Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park”) — is expecting a high temperature today of just 11 degrees Fahrenheit with a 100% chance of snow …
Estes Park, CO Weather:

Who’s up for some snow shoeing?

Oh, right, I’m 22 weeks pregnant. Crap!

Thankfully, our return trip home (Dallas to San Antonio) went much smoother than our trip up there — less than 5 hours vs. the 7.5 hour trek on Wednesday. We had a terrific time visiting with Justin’s brother, Jason, and his family — including 6-month-old Eric and 2-year-old Jillian. In addition to lots of calories and good memories, we left Jason’s house with loads of outgrown baby gear and clothing (enough to completely fill the bed of Justin’s F-150 pickup!) We sincerely thank Jason and Karen for their generous donations to Sprout’s nursery and well-being. We knew there was a logical reason we waited so long to have a child — hand-me-downs!

And I’m staying very, very, very far away from any retail establishments today! It’s just shy of 3:30 AM here in Dallas, Texas, and from our hotel room I can see the back of a large shopping complex. There’s a growing line of people and cars already gathering in the parking lot, as if free life extension treatments were about to begin any minute. I’m not complaining, though — this could bode well for our return trip to San Antonio! If everyone is either A.) shopping or B.) still sleeping off all that tryptophan consumed last night, we might actually have a hope of driving home in less than 7.5 hours this time around!

(Or is that Woad to Ruin?)

Justin just escaped from his cellblock (read: cubicle), so we’re minutes away from loading up the F-150 and heading to pick up Justin’s parents. Sounds easy, but the roadway right outside our subdivision is already backed up for miles.

Driving Details for Travel from San Antonio, TX to Coppell, TX:

Total Driving Distance: 294.25 miles
Total Driving Time: 4 hours, 41 minutes^*

* That doesnt’ factor in the AAA’s estimate that 83% of all people travelling in the USA for Thanksgiving are doing so by driving. Wheeee!

Just a few hastily taken photos of Sprout’s toy chest and our sanded and restained front door. Apologies for the photo quality, but I waited until 3 PM to take the photos so the lighting isn’t the best.

Toy Chest

The toy chest (which used to be my childhood toy chest) is not done yet. I need to sand it down again and buy some proper paint, since the KILLZ stuff is goopy and past its “use by” date. At least now I have a good base layer to start with. The toy chest was originally stained a very dark oak tone. And, yes, the toy chest’s lid is a little warped. I’ll have to put a couple rubber bumpers or something in there so it’s less apt to squash little fingers!