Once again, we were blessed with a great day to visit SeaWorld. We also discovered with our toddlers that when you're not concerned about riding rides, the park is very manageable. We got to see almost everything we intended to see. It was not very busy at all so that was nice as well. We started off at the Wild Arctic exhibition. The seals were easy to see but the walrus in the same enclosure was very fascinating. She was swimming laps it seemed and loved to make a loop right in front of the window. She was huge and would press her body up against the glass as she passed by. It scared Ethan more than one time. The polar bears were denning at this time of year so we couldn't see them but the zoo had offered us that opportunity so that was okay. The beluga whales (5 of them) were also very active and the kids loved to watch them passing by time after time. Then on to the penguins. There were lots of penguins, many different kinds. A few of the smaller ones would go to the far left rock of the enclosure and dive into the water. Then they would hop out of the water one at a time and wait until all of them were back onto the rock then one at a time dive into the water again. It was fun to watch.
Next we saw turtles. The tanks had lots of brightly colored fish in them as well and my kids loved those almost more than the turtles. After that, the sharks. The exhibit was dimly lit so I could not get many good photos from there. The tank is shaped like a tunnel so you can walk under the sharks. It was really neat to see them swimming over your head.
We stopped to feed the seals and sea lions next. You can purchase small trays of fish to throw over the sides of the enclosure and the seals will wait at the bottom to catch a bite. Neither Joyanna nor Ethan was hesitant about picking up those little slimy fishes and tossing them over. If you did hesitate the local birds would jump in and steal them. One bird actually tried to swipe a fish from Joyanna's hand as she held it over the water. Next was the opportunity to touch a bat ray. They have a low, shallow pool and you can reach in to run your hand along the bat rays back. Ethan was not interested and Joy's interest didn't last long.
We took a look at the dolphins in their regular pool and then went to watch all the shows. First, Dolphins. Second, seal and sea lion. Last, the Orcas. If you haven't been to SeaWorld it will be hard to explain the shows. They're really neat but you have to be there to really appreciate it. Even the videos we took don't capture it all. We sat midway up in the soak zone at the dolphin show. We got a little wet but nothing that wouldn't dry in a few minutes in the sun. Some people really got soaked. Ethan did not like the little bit of water that came our way. The dolphins jump, spin, and splash all at their trainers' command. The seal and sea lion show was a comedy. They did some pretty cool tricks though. The main show with the Orcas was a neat thing to watch. They're such large animals but they can do so many wonderful jumps and stunts. Ethan really liked the whales in general--the belugas, pilot whales, and orcas. Joyanna liked that they jumped and splashed in the water.
Our flights went pretty smoothly on the way home. Both kids napped for a little while on the first flight. We made it through the next flight without much incident. Joyanna and I read and Ethan played with Daddy. Because of the busyness of the days, they didn't have trouble going to sleep at the regular time here in Central Time Zone. They'll transition back quickly hopefully.
We were all excited to see Philip but Mommy more than anybody. We were keeping up with him while away and he did really well with Aunt Abby and Uncle Drew. It was good to hold him and give him hugs. He gave me hugs back last night, which consists of pulling his arms in and grunting like the noise you would make when you squeeze something tight. That makes Mommy feel great! Now to get back into the daily routine. Then, next week, off to Branson to spend Thanksgiving with my family.