Sea World

Earlier in December, we spent a Saturday at Sea World in San Antonio. We've been trying to visit the park since we moved to Texas, but just haven't been able to be there when they were open. Finally, I was insistent that we make the time over the holidays. And, it was extremely worth it. The park was beautiful from the moment we stepped in and saw this huge tree, and where there weren't trees, there were mounds of poinsettias.

One of the most interesting events was the beluga whales and dolphins show. It was very Cirque-like in that it had crazy music and acrobats jumping and diving from all parts of the venue while the belugas and dolphins jumped and danced in the water. One of the most unique parts of this show was that one of the belugas had recently given birth and the baby would not leave the mom's side. The baby was practically attached to the beluga, but the beluga continued doing her part of the show as if the baby were never there. It was interesting interaction to see.

Of course, the best show was the Shamu show. There were three orcas and several trainers participating in the show, and they were all impressive. But, what was most impressive, was the story they told. There was accompanying video and musical performers on the side of the pool telling about the miracle of birth and especially the miracle of the birth of Jesus and the true story of Christmas. I think I'm still a bit shocked that the children were able to hear this at Sea World, of all places, but I was most pleased that this was the case.

The show that was not impressive was the sea lion show. We were a bit bored by the show, but sea lions are Abigail's favorite so it was not to be missed. The best part was getting to meet one of the sea lions, having our picture taken with him, and Abigail, Daniel and Cooper all got to pet him. I think that was certainly Abigail's highlight of the day. We also took the chance to feed the sea lions after they performed. Though, it was disappointing that we couldn't get that close to them.

There were other encounters we enjoyed, such as the dolphins. The kids and Daniel enjoyed petting and feeding the dolphins. It was nice that they were able to be so close to them as long as the dolphins were interested in eating.

And, we closed out the day by watching Abigail take a ride on a rollercoaster. She's ridden these a few times, but she was disappointed we didn't let her go on the large, adult, scary coaster. This Shamu coaster was not what she had in mind, but I think she was appeased. (You can see her in the middle cart in a red sweater, seated by herself.)

We had such a blast at Sea World that we upgraded our one-day passes for 2009 season tickets, so we're hoping to have many more days of Sea World fun in the next 12 months!