California 2016: Day 3 (Sea World and Stone Brewery)

We were up bright and early on Day 3 (a common theme on this trip) in order to get a, well, early start at Sea World. It was a good idea since we were there long before the big crowds arrived and were able to get on some of the more popular rides quite quickly. Luckily, the pain in my toes had subsided a little overnight, and with the help of my shoes (vs sandals), I was able to get around with a fast limp.

We didn't get any pictures of it, but Lucas went on his very first "real" roller coaster at Sea World, the Manta. He'd been on some kiddy roller coasters before, but I don't think he was expecting it to be so intense. As a result, he was screaming his head off throughout the whole thing and was near tears as it came to a stop. He did well on on the other rides though so I think if we had done a more gentle transition from kiddie to thrill, he would have handled it better. In case you are interested, click here to see a video of the Manta ride that someone else made.

Here are a couple of photos from a more kid-friendly ride. We were just making faces in the second photo, but that's pretty much what he looked like after Manta. For the record, I loved the Manta!

When you first walk in the park, there is a pool of sharks that you can touch/pet. They are bamboo sharks, which are very docile and don't bite, but it took several minutes before Lucas would put his hand in the pool. He's had this problem before in a pool filled with rays so I guess he's just a skittish kid. Anyway, he finally reached in, and we got a photo.

Random collection of photos of us standing in front of exhibits or at shows begins now!

Due to a bunch of criticism from people that have nothing better to do than whine about whatever, the Shamu show is coming to an end soon so I was glad we were able to see it before it's gone. It's really a shame, in my opinion, since shows like this are what exposes many children to animals they may never see otherwise. I still have fond memories of all the shows I saw as a child and credit places like Sea World for my life-long love of dolphins.

Speaking of Shamu, here's a cool-looking dessert Lucas had.

On the topic of food, if anybody is going to Sea World anytime soon, I would highly recommend getting the meal plan. It's an extra $35 per ticket, but you can get an entree, a side/dessert, and a drink once per hour. Considering the exorbitant prices of park food, as long as you eat 2-3 times during the day, it's worth it. And the food was actually quite good, not the frozen crap I expected.

One of the last things we did at Sea World was go up in the SkyTower to get a great view of the park and the San Diego skyline. While heights are not my favorite thing, I braved this ride and got a couple of decent photos too.

We finally left Sea World a little bit after 5, which is a bit longer than we expected since we had planned to leave around 3 or so. It was worth it though since we all had a great time.

After that, we got in the car and drove about 40 minutes north to Escondido, the hometown of Stone Brewery. When making plans for the trip, I joked about this day by saying we were going to Sea World for Lucas and Stone Brewery for me. As mentioned in my previous blog entry, Stone is probably my favorite brewer. In fact, a Stone IPA I had many, many moons ago is likely what turned me on to hoppy beers (for better or worse). So it was quite a treat to visit the mothership, so to speak.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the brewery so I was very surprised when we arrived and found a large parking lot almost completely full with hundreds of cars. Most of the breweries I've been to are relatively small places with only a couple of tables and chairs. What I didn't realize about Stone is that it's got a full restaurant, bar, and company store so they do a lot of non-beer business there too.

The restaurant was really something to see as it backs up to a grove with walking trails. We hadn't planned to eat so we headed straight for the bar. Luck was on our side since three people left just as we arrived, and we were able to get seats. I sampled several beers that were either rare or only available at the brewery...plus a couple of old standbys like Stone IPA and Ruination. As you can see below, Lucas enjoyed an appetizer plate of ribs so it wasn't a wasted trip on him either.

I gotta get these for the wall in my room!

In addition to buying a new shirt at the store, one of the things I discovered at Stone was crowlers. These haven't made their way up to Canada yet so I was delighted to find I could get a 32 oz can (or 2) of beer to go. They have a machine that lets them can it right after pouring it from the tap. Canada is usually a year or two behind on beer-related things so I hope to see these circa 2017/18.

After that, we headed back to the hotel (in Escondido) and got a good night's rest in anticipation of returning to Los Angeles the next day. Coming soon!