Part 7 - Busch Gardens, Tampa, West-Florida

We arrived in Tampa early on the morning of the 31st of December, according to Sarah and my careful planning. You see, there's a huge fireworks display and a concert in Busch Gardens Africa on New Year's Eve. Nothing can screw up our fine planning!

Except that we forgot one small detail: In both of Annheuser-Busch's theme parks - SeaWorld and Busch Gardens you WALK. From the Dolphin pool, to the Shark tank, to Molly the seal's gig, to the Beer garden, thank goodness for the Beer Garden! The park's gardens are beautiful and there's a surprise around every well-designed corner. Fact is, my parents are nearing sixty - a youthful sixty that is, but still, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is very tired after a day's trodging.

Although SeaWorld was a treat, we were all exhausted and Busch Gardens promised more of the same - a whole day of sore feet and tired legs!
Busch Gardens Africa is an extremely realistic simulation of what life in Africa would be like if the continent consisted almost entirely of Busch Gardens souvenir shops enclosed animal digs, restaurants , rides and Beer Gardens. A fabulous Beer Garden that is! Woohoo!!

At the entrance, as you embark into the African world, there's an aligator pit, with the most humongous reptiles I've ever seen. However, they all just lie there, all - with what looked to me - like a severe case of the hangovers. One had a piece of dead rotten fish still lying on it's head, like some high swamp fashion-headgear. All very entertaining though.

I took my Mom and Dad to some of the shows, time to have FUN! NOT! Time to stand in line! In these lines we saw very interesting tour groups, one I'm pretty sure were the entire population of Okinawa, Japan. They were in front of us mostly.
At some of the entrances they stamp your hand as you move inside with the rest of the huge herd. Moo! Moo! Once inside you see an even larger crowd. Having Fun! Moo!
It's a pretty place, but we were tired before we got there.

Sarah, sister Marli and boyfriend J.P. met up with us later. They were like energized EveReady bunnies after each adrenaline-inducing freefalling suicide-ride. There were some awesome rides with names I can't recall, but would be something like, "Ride of Death", " The Fall of Death", and "The Psycho Death-Trap". Sarah, Marli and J.P. loved it...

Then I took them to the Dolphin and Whale Show. What looooong lines. The people in the front of this long line looked like they were from the Jurassic Age, the line were so long. Moo! I wanted at first to explain to my sister that she could miss the best years of her life waiting in this line, but she looked so excited that I just couldn't tell her this terrible truth. We were gonna DO this! Moo!
They loved it...
Marli even got to feed a dolphin afterwards and that was quite special. A moment in time, being so close to these magnificent animals.

Eventually we left the park, took the Fam. to dinner at Arbor City in Downtown Tampa - a grrreat place, but there's pubs, restaurants and lots of live bands and it WAS New Year's Eve...
With my parents in bed, us four went back to Busch Gardens adn saw out 2006 with an incredible fireworks display, welcomed 2007 and went to bed, all of us quite exhausted.