USO craziness

Since our last military event went so well, I thought we would try another one- USO Military Appreciation Day at the Waikiki Aquarium. Last time I went to the aquarium, I wasn't overly impressed, but since it was free and they would have kid friendly activities, I thought I would give it a shot. There was a free shuttle from the NEX and since Makaela has never been on a public bus, I thought it might be a fun experience for her. We got to the NEX and were told we had to wait for the next shuttle- they didn't anticipate so many people going. Once we did get on, Makaela had a great time watching the scenery pass by. Mia, of course, smiled and charmed everyone. Once we got there, we had to wait on line to get in. I let Makaela go play around the Banyan tree while I was in line, but she soon came running back crying saying the bad lady scared her. Turns out a homeless lady was camped out on the other side of the tree undoubtly irritated by the rush of little kids. Once we got in, Makaela lined up immediately for...yep, more tatoos. She got three. So at this point, she has two on each arm- all she needs is a Harley and a do-rag and she is all good (I shudder to think). She then said she was hungry so we attempted to get online and then I found that it wrapped around two walkways. Thankfully at one point we passed the tidepool exhibit. Needless to say, both she and I were irritated by the time she got her food and even more so when she realized that she didn't like the hot dog ("It tastes funny"). So we decided to finally go into the aquarium. We started towards the main hallway when I noticed yet another line, so I asked someone and was told it was the line into the viewing halls. Now, I'm no idiot and I'm not about to take a 3 year old into a packed hallway while I'm pushing a stroller. I had visions of Makaela being shuffled away in the crowds and I try to catch up with her with the stroller- no thank you- however, I didn't want to disappoint her. I was prepared to put sleeping Mia in the sling and Makaela in the stroller and brave the elements. Luckily, when I told Makaela that we had to wait on another line, she said, "Can we go wait on the line to go home!" She had had it and I couldn't have been happier to hear those words come from her mouth. So at 12:15 we got on the shuttle line...mind you that the shuttle wasn't coming until 12:50, but Makaela was great and played memory on my phone. When the shuttle arrived however, people rushed the back of the bus...grown men...grown military men with their families, cutting all of us who had waited patiently. At this point, Makaela started crying and I was close to tears as well. The driver, instead of making the ruthless people get off, he simply called another shuttle. This shuttle was much less crowded so I guess I am glad we waited. By the time all was said and done, we were very happy to be back in our car and I think Makaela won't be asking to go back on a bus anytime soon.