Okay, here is an old post that I finally found all the pictures for. When we went to California this summer, we went to Sea World with my family, and then since the kids loved it so much and our tickets let us back in on other days for free, we went back again just with my mom, me, Elora, and Oliver. Marion was sick that day (so sad!) and my dad said he would play with her at home so the big kids could go back to Sea World. When we walked in the park, we ran into this huge tortoise that was walking around on the grass. The kids were SO excited. They both love turtles and tortoises of all kinds.
The one show the kids wanted to see again was the dolphin show. So we headed over to dolphin stadium. Elora really wanted to sit in the splash zone. We talked her into the top part of the splash zone so we wouldn’t get soaked. I had to post this picture, because these two pilot whales, Bubbles and Shadow, have been performing since I was a kid. I couldn’t believe they were still the ones performing now that I take my kids to Sea World.
We headed over to see the Polar Bears and Walruses since we had missed that exhibit the first time. Elora loved the Beluga Whales that are there. We spent a long time watching them swim.
But even better, was when we went to see the Walrus and he was chewing fish, spitting it out, and chewing it again. The kids thought this was hysterically funny and sat in front of the tank watching and laughing for a LONG time.
We got some ice cream and them stopped back at the big turtle aquarium (because it is my favorite!) The kids like aquariums a lot. It is funny because Sea World has rides and a lot of shows now, but I remember going as a kid and just loving all the aquariums. I love to watch fish and turtles swim, and seeing new animals, and learning more about these creatures we usually don’t get to see. The first day with the family we spent a lot of time at shows and on rides, but on this trip we just went to one show and then spent the rest of the day looking at the animals and aquariums, and it was such a great trip. The kids loved it, and it was just like how I remember Sea World trips as a kid.
Oliver checked out the map to see which exhibits we had missed.
Our last stop was the star fish pond. Elora LOVES being able to pet animals. She thought it was great to pick up all the star fish, and when she noticed the sea urchins and sea anemones, she wondered if she could pick those up too. I wasn’t sure, so we found a nice Sea World worker and asked if it was okay to touch the other animals. He assured us we could touch them, so Elora spent some time looking for sea urchins close enough to touch.
Oliver was, as always, more hesitant to touch the animals, but once he touched a star fish he got really excited and even dared to hold a few of them. Elora would usually pick them up for him and let him hold them for a little while. I was sad that we didn’t have more time to spend here, but the park was closing for the day. We checked out the last aquarium we had missed, and each kid picked out a stuffed animal that Grandma bought for them. Elora also picked out a dolphin stuffed animal for Marion since she was sad that Marion hadn’t gotten to come. I love these kids, it is so fun to watch them explore. And thanks Grandma and Grandpa, for the fun trip to CA this summer. I think this is finally the last post from that trip…
