After the pool party/BBQ at grandma and grandpas, I had to go into work. I thought I got home in time to go catch the fireworks at Sea World. Usually, it only takes us about eight minutes to get to Sea World. Dan was all, "Dude we are never gonna make it. There will be a ton of traffic."
Determined to see fireworks on America's Birthday I ignored him and hurried the boys out the door and into the car. We headed down the freeway at record speed, no traffic in sight. Of course I was super smug saying, "See Dan, I told you there wouldn't be any traffic!"
That's when we started seeing the flashing signs indicating that all the beach parking lots were full. Then all of the exits into mission bay were blocked off! I have never seen such a thing. How can they close the exit to sea world?
The sensible thing would've been to turn around and go home. I am in no way sensible. "Don't worry Dan I know a little ant trail that will get us there." We made it into sea world with about 5 minutes to spare. Upon entering the lot I almost threw up. Apparently
everyone in America decided to go to Sea World that night. There were NO SPOTS in the parking lot so I did the only sensible thing I could think of. I made my own. "Don't worry Dan, it's right near the exit so we'll be the first ones to get out."
We literally ran to the front gates and got a seat in the only stadium left and the show began. Patriotic music, fireworks, my family, America's birthday. I was pumped. Choobie was not. Fireworks are really loud when you are two. See below:
The fireworks and patriotic sound track were awesome. The show was about 30 minutes long. We eventually had to muffle the Choob so he wouldn't go deaf.
Rather than leave with the rest of the country after the fireworks show, we decided to stick around until Sea World closed at 11pm in hopes to escape the parking lot. No such luck. After the park closed, we walked to our car. Again, the urge to vomit came over me. "How are there so many cars still trying to leave?"
Dan, never one to pass up a rare victory looks over at me with his smug little grin and says, "I told you so!" Kill me now! It's like 11:30 at night and the Choob is tired and I've been at work all day and not had a nap and there are no less than 1.7 million cars still trying to get out of the parking lot. Most definitely a recipe for disaster.
It took us almost TWO HOURS to get out of the parking lot. 120 minutes to travel a distance of 100 feet. Not kidding. There is like one little road out of Mission Bay and everyone was on it. Not moving anywhere. Thinking ahead as all good moms do, I put Choobie in a pull up. When he had to pee, I told him to just go in his pull up. He did not want to, and informed us in an ultrasonic, overtired meltdown of a voice. It was the worst. I was tired, stuck in horrendous traffic next to a husband enjoying the one and only time he has ever been right, screaming at my child to just pee in his friken pull up because mommy can't take him to the potty.
As we inched along, I decided not to get on our normal freeway because it was a sea of red taillights stretching to infinity. Instead we went east and then north. A few hours and 3 freeways later we ended up home. On July 5th at about 3:45 in the am. Ironic because we live eight minutes from Sea World. For the record: Dan was right. I was wrong. Just this once.
