Sea World Vacation

Last Sunday, my mom, Brynlee and I left for a short vacation to visit Brad and Jennifer.  As a special promotion, Sea World offered free passes for teachers this summer.  So I decided since I would get in free and so would Brynlee since she is under 2, we would make the trek to Sea World.  Now previously, as in several years ago when we were last there, I made the comment that I would never take my child to Sea World until they were out of the stroller.  But when I heard "free tickets", I just couldn't resist.  So my mom, Jennifer, Jennifer's 3-year old neighbor, Brynlee and I set out for the adventure!  Here are some pictures from our day!

The first place we stopped was the dolphin feeding.  It is pretty amazing how close you can get to the dolphins and you can even feed them if you pay money to buy fish.  As you can see, Brynlee had no desire to touch them!

Next, we went to Elmo's Bay of Play and rode the carousel.  At first, Brynlee was a little apprehensive.  But she got so excited each time we went around and Gramma waved at her!  The Sesame Street Characters also put on a live show of singing and dancing.  Brynlee was excited to see Elmo and Abby but wanted to keep them at a distance as you can see below.  At the end of the show, you can also take your picture with the characters.  Lets just say the picture opt didn't go very well with Abby and Zoe and ended in tears.  They were a little too big and close for comfort.

We also went to the Sea Lion and Walrus Show.  This was a great opportunity for all of us to sit down for a while and eat a snack.

Up next on our list was the new Shamu show.  It was a really great show and featured 3 big whales and 1 baby whale.  However, for some reason Brynlee was very nervous about Shamu jumping in and out of the water and spent most of the show watching Shamu carefully with one eye from Gramma's shoulder.

After the Shamu show to get out of the heat, we went to the Penguin Exhibit and Shark/Fish Aquarium.  Brynlee really liked the fish and would touch the aquarium glass saying "I touch it".

All in all, we had a pretty good time.  Even though it was hot, it was not too crowded since we went on a Monday.  However I will now admit, I should have stuck with my original words.  Brynlee was a little young for this outing and was a bit overwhelmed.  The 3 year old boy that went with us had a great time and really took everything in.  You could definitely tell a difference in a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old's experience.  I can not even imagine all of the babies (meaning just a few weeks to a few months old)that we saw being carried around in a front-carrier sling.  I know they could not have had a good time. 

Anyways, I guess you live and you learn!  As a result, I think our next Sea World outing will not be for several more years!  I think we will just stick to the Fort Worth Zoo!