On Saturday, I woke my wife up earlier than her noontime sleep, to get her to go with me to Inner Harbor in Baltimore.
We met our daughter, along with both of our grand kids and went to the National Aquarium.
This trip was a request of my wife, with help from me and my daughter. It was kind of my daughter's idea, after I pushed my wife to go visit them at their home in Maryland. Am I confusing anyone?
So, I brought a long 2 bottles of O2, one carrier, and an extra bottle in case we ran out. The large bottles we have only last about 2 hours at the rate my wife uses them. She likes to use them while walking because her O2 levels go really low. When she is sitting, she is OK without it.
So, I carried the case with the Bottle while she walked along.
My grand daughter was very bubbly and happy to be there, and tagged along happily chasing the pigeons and sea gulls.
We went through the members entrance to the Aquarium since my daughter has a yearly membership. We walked right past the crowds waiting to get inside.
Once there, we went over and procured the use of a wheel chair for my wife. I was able to hang the bottle on the back, and away we went. Everywhere there was a line, someone would wave us over, and we butted up in line. I liked that.
After awhile, my daughter gave me her backpack which held all the stuff she needed for an infant and a 2.5 year old. It weighed in at about 10 pounds. I also had my Panasonic lumix to try to take pictures as I walked along. That was fun (not really). I wasn't used to pushing, carrying, and juggling all at the same time.
Needless to say, this is something I couldn't do two years ago for 5 minutes, let alone the 3 or 4 hours we spent there.
We used the elevator for many of our level changes, and that was interesting too because some of them came out at the end of that particular display. So, we had to walk through the crowds fighting traffic.
Getting to see the fish tanks turned out to be easier than I thought. People would back into us, say something like "oh, excuse me!" and then they moved out of the way. Nice!
My wife had Jackson on her lap most of the time. She talked to him and explained things to him, even though he is well under a year old and had no clue what he was doing there. He liked the pastel colors of the various tanks, and probably enjoyed the company too.
So, when we got to this moving ramp instead of a stairway, I decided to try it with the wheel chair. I managed to get the thing centered and then was amazed at how heavy it got as we started going up. I couldn't push it up in order to shorten the trip because there were always people in front of us. Man oh man did it get heavy! I'm glad none of the staff tried to stop me because finding the elevator and bucking traffic was harder than holding the wheelchair from falling backwards....but not by much. My grand daughter at one point came up behind me and put her hand on my butt to help me hold grandma from falling backwards. Goosed by a two year old! There were several of these ramps, and they varied in length and angle. I was able to hold the chair and not transmit my fear of impending failure to anyone in the family. Besides, it was a great workout!
Well, we wandered around with our entourage for a few hours until I realized that I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since my morning meal. I couldn't even find a water fountain. They have several places to eat, but every one of them was loaded with people and required waiting in line, which I despise. So, I finally had to give in when we got to the Jellyfish exhibit. The cafeteria was large and seemed to have plenty of seating. The lines weren't that long, so we entered one.
Now, I don't profess to understand women in any way shape or form. My wife and daughter couldn't decide what they wanted to eat. In this type of situation, I just grab what I can and go. But they had to decide. There was a line for hot food prepared by the staff, and there were already prepped salads and subs. We could grab them, pay, and then eat. What could be simpler?
I grabbed a chicken Cesar salad. I got my wife to grab another type of salad and my daughter to take a sub, but my grand daughter wanted a "hot dog", which required us to stay in line. My daughter managed to talk her into getting a cup of yogurt instead. Problem solved until my wife saw the "Starbucks" sign at the counter. I grabbed her a frappachino bottle from the pre prepped counter and we moved to the checkout. (I'm leaving here right after I finish this. We will go over to Dunkin Donuts where I will buy her a drink and doughnut of her choice).
So, we managed to get our food and actually eat. I ate the strips of chicken and gave some to Lilly (my grand daughter), along with many of the croutons. She looked so cute with a yogurt ring around her mouth while chomping on her chicken piece. No complaints from her, just good old fashioned protein.
I hadn't had anything to drink all day, but managed to find a water fountain and got a few sips later in the day.
I continued to carry the backpack and camera while pushing the chair for the rest of the trip. I had fun again going down the ramps inside the shark tank. They were stationary and wide enough for me to get a good grip and hold on while walking/pulling backwards.
The trip ended with us giving back the wheelchair and heading out to the parking garage. Lilly was exhausted and cranky. Jackson was asleep in his belly pack, and I was pleasantly sore.
We had to stop once so my wife could rest, but the trip was good.
One thing I have to mention were the prices. OUCH!
$6.95 for the salad. A few strips of chicken and some lettuce.
$4.25 for a bottle of Frappachino. UGH.
The parking for 4 hours cost $20.00. Holy cow. And they didn't even wash and wax the car!
My daughter got a 10% discount for paying for us to get into the aquarium, which was around $25.00 each. We didn't get to see the dolphin show or their 4D show. That's extra.
Oh well, it was worth it.
We got lost in Baltimore because I tried to go around some major congestion on 83 North. That was OK too because we got to see part of the city we never saw before.
I am a bit sore today, but not bad enough to worry about. I wouldn't have been able to do this two years ago.
Life is Good!
We met our daughter, along with both of our grand kids and went to the National Aquarium.
This trip was a request of my wife, with help from me and my daughter. It was kind of my daughter's idea, after I pushed my wife to go visit them at their home in Maryland. Am I confusing anyone?
So, I brought a long 2 bottles of O2, one carrier, and an extra bottle in case we ran out. The large bottles we have only last about 2 hours at the rate my wife uses them. She likes to use them while walking because her O2 levels go really low. When she is sitting, she is OK without it.
So, I carried the case with the Bottle while she walked along.
My grand daughter was very bubbly and happy to be there, and tagged along happily chasing the pigeons and sea gulls.
We went through the members entrance to the Aquarium since my daughter has a yearly membership. We walked right past the crowds waiting to get inside.
Once there, we went over and procured the use of a wheel chair for my wife. I was able to hang the bottle on the back, and away we went. Everywhere there was a line, someone would wave us over, and we butted up in line. I liked that.
After awhile, my daughter gave me her backpack which held all the stuff she needed for an infant and a 2.5 year old. It weighed in at about 10 pounds. I also had my Panasonic lumix to try to take pictures as I walked along. That was fun (not really). I wasn't used to pushing, carrying, and juggling all at the same time.
Needless to say, this is something I couldn't do two years ago for 5 minutes, let alone the 3 or 4 hours we spent there.
We used the elevator for many of our level changes, and that was interesting too because some of them came out at the end of that particular display. So, we had to walk through the crowds fighting traffic.
Getting to see the fish tanks turned out to be easier than I thought. People would back into us, say something like "oh, excuse me!" and then they moved out of the way. Nice!
My wife had Jackson on her lap most of the time. She talked to him and explained things to him, even though he is well under a year old and had no clue what he was doing there. He liked the pastel colors of the various tanks, and probably enjoyed the company too.
So, when we got to this moving ramp instead of a stairway, I decided to try it with the wheel chair. I managed to get the thing centered and then was amazed at how heavy it got as we started going up. I couldn't push it up in order to shorten the trip because there were always people in front of us. Man oh man did it get heavy! I'm glad none of the staff tried to stop me because finding the elevator and bucking traffic was harder than holding the wheelchair from falling backwards....but not by much. My grand daughter at one point came up behind me and put her hand on my butt to help me hold grandma from falling backwards. Goosed by a two year old! There were several of these ramps, and they varied in length and angle. I was able to hold the chair and not transmit my fear of impending failure to anyone in the family. Besides, it was a great workout!
Well, we wandered around with our entourage for a few hours until I realized that I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since my morning meal. I couldn't even find a water fountain. They have several places to eat, but every one of them was loaded with people and required waiting in line, which I despise. So, I finally had to give in when we got to the Jellyfish exhibit. The cafeteria was large and seemed to have plenty of seating. The lines weren't that long, so we entered one.
Now, I don't profess to understand women in any way shape or form. My wife and daughter couldn't decide what they wanted to eat. In this type of situation, I just grab what I can and go. But they had to decide. There was a line for hot food prepared by the staff, and there were already prepped salads and subs. We could grab them, pay, and then eat. What could be simpler?
I grabbed a chicken Cesar salad. I got my wife to grab another type of salad and my daughter to take a sub, but my grand daughter wanted a "hot dog", which required us to stay in line. My daughter managed to talk her into getting a cup of yogurt instead. Problem solved until my wife saw the "Starbucks" sign at the counter. I grabbed her a frappachino bottle from the pre prepped counter and we moved to the checkout. (I'm leaving here right after I finish this. We will go over to Dunkin Donuts where I will buy her a drink and doughnut of her choice).
So, we managed to get our food and actually eat. I ate the strips of chicken and gave some to Lilly (my grand daughter), along with many of the croutons. She looked so cute with a yogurt ring around her mouth while chomping on her chicken piece. No complaints from her, just good old fashioned protein.
I hadn't had anything to drink all day, but managed to find a water fountain and got a few sips later in the day.
I continued to carry the backpack and camera while pushing the chair for the rest of the trip. I had fun again going down the ramps inside the shark tank. They were stationary and wide enough for me to get a good grip and hold on while walking/pulling backwards.
The trip ended with us giving back the wheelchair and heading out to the parking garage. Lilly was exhausted and cranky. Jackson was asleep in his belly pack, and I was pleasantly sore.
We had to stop once so my wife could rest, but the trip was good.
One thing I have to mention were the prices. OUCH!
$6.95 for the salad. A few strips of chicken and some lettuce.
$4.25 for a bottle of Frappachino. UGH.
The parking for 4 hours cost $20.00. Holy cow. And they didn't even wash and wax the car!
My daughter got a 10% discount for paying for us to get into the aquarium, which was around $25.00 each. We didn't get to see the dolphin show or their 4D show. That's extra.
Oh well, it was worth it.
We got lost in Baltimore because I tried to go around some major congestion on 83 North. That was OK too because we got to see part of the city we never saw before.
I am a bit sore today, but not bad enough to worry about. I wouldn't have been able to do this two years ago.
Life is Good!
No comments:
Post a Comment