Seaworld
The last stop on our theme park tour, we have scheduled one day at Seaworld figuring there are some attractions to see but not too many rides so something we should be able to handle without coming more than once. The boys remember it pretty well from our last trip here so a are pretty excited to see the animals, particularly Shamu (of course). We do have one more surprise up our sleeves, as we decide last minute to sign Nick up to swim with the Beluga whales. The minimum age is 10, so we fudge his age a little, but the other boys are definitely too young so will have to wait for another trip.
We spend the hour waiting for Nick’s adventure on a ride called Journey to Atlantis, which is a combination log ride and roller coaster. It quick becomes Joey’s new favorite (this trip has turned him into quite the daredevil), so he stays with Mom and Sam to ride it one more time while Nick and I head over to get him signed in. The Beluga Interaction is about 90 miniutes, split half between close up visits with the Walruses and Polar Bears (not too close for that one), and half slipping into a full body wetsuit (Belugas like the water around 52 degrees) and getting in the pool. Since Nick went on his own, we don’t have any pictures of the first part, there are probably a hundred or more of the second, where he got to feed the whales, rub their bellies, and learn about how they are trained.
The swim lasted a bit longer than we were told when we bought the ticket, so with about 10 minutes left, the rest of our gang had to leave to make our check in for Lunch with Shamu. The kids all rememer this from our first trip so it was the one thing we knew we had to do again. Once he was dressed, Nick and I ran across the park to join them, getting there at almost the perfect time – after the line up to get the food was gone, but before the trainers started the show. Our table was right next to the edge of the tank so we have a lot of great pictures of the whale (it’s not Shamu anymore) sliding up out of the water about six feet away.
After lunch, we worked our way through the rest of the park, doing a few rides like the Observation Tower and the gondola ride over the bay, as well as the scheduled attractions like the regular Shamu show, the dolphin show, and the pet show. We foolishly also go on the tube ride (which is new since our last visit), and get thoroughly soaked, especially Granny. As this happens fairly late in the day, we spend the rest of the time frantically seeking sunshine to try and dry off, unfortunately with limited success.
The park closes at 7:30, but by 6:30 we are more or less beat and start making out way to the gate. The boys want to get in their last opportunity to spend the money they have left, so spend a half hour in the souveneir shops picking up a few things and then we’re off for the hotel.
Tomorrow we’re headed back home. The flight is late, so we will have some free time to spend by the pool and get all of our things together without a rush. It has been a whirlwind 7 days, but everyone seemed to have a great trip. We are definitely coming home with a ton of new memories and stories to share with friends and family.