Birthday Trip – SeaWorld!
Blog entry 10/9 for Thursday, Sep 25.
At last! A day when we didn’t have to pack up our stuff and drive all day! We were actually able to sleep in (sort of), because SeaWorld didn’t open until 10 AM, and we knew we weren’t going to have to stay up late if we didn’t want to because SeaWorld closed at 5 PM. In between, of course, we wore ourselves out – and that’s today’s story.
Ali had picked out several shows she wanted to see, so after getting through the entrance folderol, we scooped up a schedule so we could plan our day. The first show was “Pets Rule!”
which featured (mostly rescue) dogs, cats, potbellied pigs, ducks, kangaroos (or wallabies, I’m not sure which), parrots, and doves/pigeons (again, not sure which). Having been a cat owner (and I use the phrase loosely; it was more like they deigned to keep me around as their wait staff), I was amazed at what the feline contingent had been trained to do in the show – even including one cat walking the high wire!
True to SeaWorld form, they also included the disclaimer that people sitting in Rows 1 through [x] might get wet. I didn’t really see how until the sprinkler turned on. It wasn’t the same “wet” that people get at the sea lion, dolphin, and killer whale shows, but it definitely qualified. (The sprinkler in question is at the lower center of this picture.)
The second show we saw was called “Clyde and Seamore’s Spooky Adventure,” featuring two sea lions and an otter. The premise is that Uncle Schmedley has recently passed away, and Clyde and Seamore must be present for the reading of the will. Naturally, there’s an evil butler, a good-guy sheriff, and a sneaky otter in the mix, too.
On to the third show: “Blue Horizons“, featuring dolphins and aerialists. This was a very colorful show, with dancers dressed like parrots,
one of the trainers “water-skiing” on two dolphins,
synchronized dolphin-swimming,
and, of course, the obligatory splash-the-people routine (which, despite my best efforts, I utterly failed to get a decent picture of). Most of the audience victims enjoyed the splashing, but there were a few (mostly the littlest ones) who didn’t take too kindly to getting soaked. The same was true in the signature show, “One Ocean,” featuring the killer whales. Ali and I sat up high enough at all the shows that we stayed dry, which I’m sure my camera and phone, and her purse, were grateful for. A few photos from “One Ocean”:
Yeah, I’d say the front rows got just a *lit-tle* bit wet.
In addition to the scheduled shows, there are many different exhibits, including multiple aquaria, a tidal pool (where you can actually pick up the mollusks and the sea stars, as long as you keep them under the surface – that water was COLD), a couple of sea turtle displays, a few rides (including a roller coaster we skipped, and a cable-car we rode), and some sculptures of ocean-dwelling animals that were made from ocean trash (the sculptures, not the animals – unfortunately, a lot trash is eaten by sea animals):
We also saw flamingos, seals, more sea lions, flamingos, ducks, people, flamingos… 😉
As predicted, we had worn ourselves out by closing time. We had arrived a little after they opened at 10, and we left shortly before they closed at 5. It was the highlight of the entire trip, and Ali and I both enjoyed the day together.
That evening we went out for dinner. Ali pronounced herself tired of Denny’s, so I used Ms. MapQuest to find a local Pita Jungle. She gave us good directions, but when we got to the specified location, not only was there no Pita Jungle there, there was no THERE there – the street address Ms. MapQuest had given us didn’t exist. So we wandered up and down the block until we found a place that looked inviting, and ended up having an absolutely delectable Italian dinner. After our meal, bed sounded *very* inviting, so we walked back to the truck, drove back to the motel, and retired for the evening.
The Peripatetic Traveler 
We saw each of the shows at Sea World! It seemed to me that they had unfortunately lowered the number of shows, but my memory could be faulty. You forgot? to mention the sea otter displays and how some of them were rather… noisy… and show-off-y whenever people fed them, or the nifty thing we found out about the treats that they (and other animals in displays around the park) were fed; that they were primarily water, and didn’t have an impact on their diet! I love Sea World. Thanks for taking me!!
It was partly a memory issue, but also I chose to give what I thought were the highlights. I could have gone on and on and on… but I didn’t want to bore people. Thanks for adding your comment!