Day 674

The weather for day 2 of Sea World was perfect...we were just dressed for cooler. The asphalt walkways heat up fast! Our first stop was Dolphin Cove where we got to feed the dolphins. Our strategy was to arrive before the park officially opened. Most of the time it is perfect because a lot of people don't know you can get in before 10. Well....I guess someone let the secret out! The line to get fish was long....before the park opened. Either way, it is always a fun experience.
I am not sure how these pictures got out of order, but I am just going to go with it! LOL I mentioned yesterday that the Shamu show was different because the trainers can't get in the water with the whales. We did get to see a baby Shamu! It was born in January. I was too busy watching the baby to really watch the show. LOL

Hannah is just precious!
Ahhhhh, back to Dolphin Cove! Feeding the dolphins is always a favorite thing.
Caleb LOVES to ride Shamu Express. The line was crazy long...I am guessing due to spring break and the beautiful weather. Samantha even saw someone from church in line! Josh saw someone from school in line for a different ride.
If you remember last year Josh did the Beluga whale interaction. At that moment Samantha decided that was what she wanted for her next birthday. While I was making arrangements, Josh decided he wanted to do it again this year for his. They both decided to do the Sea Lion Interaction Program--SLIP. It was a totally awesome experience that left me and Marc wanting to do it also! First we went backstage at Beluga stadium for the intro video and then the kids got into their wetsuits. WE had to walk all the way to Sea Lion Stadium while the kids and other participants got to ride in a cart around the outside of the park. Then they got to walk through the crowd of people in their wetsuits. It was too cool to listen to the reactions of the passersby.
If you look closely you can see Elrod (the Sea Lion) smiling! It was hilarious when the trainer told him to smile and he did.

This was a heart stopping moment for me as a mom. It was also a WOW that is too cool moment. I think the picture explains it all!
He was swimming pretty fast with them too!
The group got to give Elrod different commands.
That is just way cool!
Floating!!!!!

My camera battery died, so I didn't get many pics. I also planned on doing a video like last year. I ended up buying the CD of the whole thing, but it contains every person in our group. Anyway, after they were done we had to go all the way back to Beluga stadium! I knew mom couldn't handle the walk, so I went and left the rest of the family at the market. Well....when we got back the trainer took us to see the dolphins from the Azul show. Then she took us over to the Beluga pool. Luckily, I did have my phone to take a picture! It was just awesome!!!!
After that we hit a few more show. It was getting HOT and we had an hour to kill before the next show...what to do??? Play in the kids water zone of course. Sounded like a great idea at the time, but that water was ICE COLD! Caleb was mad at me because he didn't want to get all wet and I chased him through a waterfall.
Samantha still had on her suit. What you can't see in this picture is her blue lips! LOL
All in all it was a great trip. Our last for the year. :( Our season passes expire April 4. We are choosing not to renew them this year because we are taking a big road trip this summer. Either way, it has been a fun few years of Sea World trips!
Wednesday 3/17