If you haven't been following (and why haven't you, huh?) I am on a wild and crazy Texas Adventure with my sister and her baboos.
I am exhausted.
I can't find my phone charger.
I miss my own sweet baboos (who are probably grown up and smoking cigarettes in my 4-day long absence)
The weather is Bee-yoo-ti-ful, (and not even humid) so that's extra nice. Even nicer is a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel. I visit it daily, sometimes with one of the Twins with me, usually Mick.
While I work a little, he plays his DS and feeds the local wildlife processed doughnuts.
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| Don't tell PETA, these aren't whole grain.. |
He also fits under the dresser in his swimming trunks (look close, it was dark and I only take photos with my blackberry)
We offered to let him sleep there.
We did the Alamo, Sea World, and a lot of walking around San Antonio's Riverwalk. My sister is the most tourist-y tourist since my Dad. She takes 10,000 photos of buildings and things and wants to see it ALL. She makes me take a lot of photos with her swanky camera and loves campy boat rides and cheeseball souvenirs. I have to work not to be a spoil-sport when we are taking yet another photo of her and the kids (who are wrecked and whining and staring off into space, as am I) by one section of the Riverwalk that she especially likes. She tells me often that she thinks "the kids would really like" this or that, and I throw the bullshit flag out there, because Clark Griswold Jr. is really the one who is dying to see the wax museum, or have the Mariachi play for our table of bland guacamole and enchiladas. So, we humor her.
Sea World was fun but crowded, although i almost died from guilt that my own Baboos weren't there. The Twins would have enjoyed having their cousins around, and they would have liked the water park rides and the shows. I hope to take them soon and "pretend" like it's my first time.
Mick liked Sea World...almost as much as the hotel pool.
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| There is a teeny-tiny little yellow frog in this photo...somewhere. |
I think I tend to forget how tough it must be to live in Madigan's world, with someone constantly holding your hand, arm, or locking you in the house, the stroller, the car seat, the closet (Juuust kidding!), etc. To our credit, she will haul ass (and has, on occasion) if you don't pay close attention. Just today, she almost escaped the hotel room. I wish I could say that has never happened before.
Anyway, Morgan's Playland was extremely welcoming and had folks with all types and varieties of disability both working and playing there. There were also some families who appeared to have no disability in their group, who were just having a good time too. No matter, we all bailed in. We were their first visitors from Wyoming, one of their last two states to be represented. They were pretty revved up about that, so we felt like celebrities.
The first thing they did was slap a plastic locator on each of us so we could keep track of everyone.
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| That's my weird hand, looking kind of elderly. |
and when we ran just one of our bracelets across the scanner......viola!
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| This would be neater looking if we all weren't standing together, mouths agape at the technology |
it showed EACH of our locations. We had no worries about losing anyone. Very cool.
Also, the place wasn't crammed with people like Sea World had been, so we released the death grip on Mads and
watched.
her.
A kid with LITERALLY half of a working brain continually eluded my sister and I for the better part of five hours.
go.
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| There were at least 3 of this type of structure |
It was kind of like a game of "Where's Waldo", except we didn't try very hard.
Although there were lots of cool things to do and see at MW, we couldn't get Mads to leave the expansive playgrounds long enough to enjoy them for very long. She was absolutely content to run amok in and around the structures, up the stairs, down the slides, and so on. She was laughing the whole time, hugging random strangers and playing with her brother. There were several other special needs parents and their children too, so the whole place had an air of togetherness and understanding.
I caught myself getting veklepmt as I watched pure joy in action. Just a little. A smidge.
Sniff.
Madigan broke me from my swell of emotion by becoming Madzilla, the feared creature.
She would not be caught.
She could not be tamed.
She would not eat lunch.
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| She's a maniac... |
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| Maaa-niac, on the floor.. |
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| and she's dancing like she's never danced before.... |
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| Whoa...they're calling me - scram! |
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| Uh-oh - retreat... |
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| perhaps camouflage... |
She had the best time, and the staff liked us so much, they invited us back tomorrow, free of charge. If we don't die of exhaustion, we might consider it.
At the end of the day, we crawled to our rented mini van, completely and totally spent. We were all a little cruddy and mads looked like Pigpen.
She became one who needed a nap.
Because God knows we needed one too. We agreed she would be asleep in 5 minutes.
She didn't sleep on the drive.
She didn't rest in the room.
In fact, she went swimming.
Only by welding her to bed did we get her to conk out.
Now, we can't sleep.
