Two days at Sea World, never enough!

Alan and I knew one day at Sea World would not be enough, and we were right.  This continues to be one of our favourite parks and, luckily, Corbyn agreed!  I know there is a lot of bad publicity about the Orcas and the way they are trained and kept and I do feel bad for them. But Sea World also does much to protect the environment and creatures dependent on the sea and I respect them for that.

One of my lasting memories of Sea World happened 15 years ago when Whitney was very young.  We did the Wild Arctic ride, which is a simulated helicopter with the destination of an Arctic research station.  When you land, you go outside as with any ride, but instead of Florida heat and landscape, you see glaciers and a pool with Beluga whales in it!  At this point, my young daughter asked me how we got back......fast forward 15 years - and her son asked the same question!  Fabulous!

There was one walrus in the Arctic station that just seemed to want to play with the people looking at him. He would put his face where you could put your hand and imagine scratching his chin.  It was a very special experience for all of us!

Corbyn and I got to play while the braver folks went on the Manta roller coaster. We went into a Photo Booth and got photos done, have not done that since I met Alan in 1985!  It was really fun, but I got the settings wrong and we are in sepia!

Here they are showing Corbyn what they did!  (I don't think he was all that impressed!)

(he should have been impressed!)

One of the many differences between the US and the UK is the UK does not permit dolphins in captivity.  So seeing a dolphin show is a real treat here.  This was amazing with at least 5 performing dolphins, trapeze artists, divers and quite a few parrots!  It was like a 3 ring circus - not knowing where to look!

The sting ray petting area has always been a favourite of our family and Corbyn was right in there so much that I was afraid he would jump right in!  He said they felt like wet velvet and made sure I had a feel of them.  And, he was right!  When Alan and I took Corbyn back, while Whitney and Charmaine went to Aquatica, the sting ray pool was our meeting area because it would never matter how late they might be, he would still be having fun!

My mission for the morning we were with only Corbyn was to get there early enough to feed the dolphins, and it was a magical experience. Many thanks to Alan for not coming with us and standing on the other side of the pool so we have pictures like this to treasure!

Of course, the last time we were here, Orca trainers were permitted to perform in the tanks with Shamu and the others.  But that was before they had the tragic accident.....I understand the reasoning, and am impressed with the quality of the show with the trainers standing at the sides of the pool.  I also fear one day, these shows will stop too, so I felt very honoured to see this show twice while we were in the area.

We had hoped to return to the 5:30 show after we did a "child swap" with Whitney when they got to the park, so I let Corbyn use my camera for the first show we went to on our day with just him.  I think he did a good job!

Corbyn's photo!  (I did edit the lady's hair that blocked the lower right corner though!)

Unfortunately, the weather shut the park down and there were no shows, or anything after about 3pm.  Just a struggle for survival and warmth.  I have not experienced a Tropical Storm quite like this and was amazed at how much  and how long it rained.  I don't think Sea World was expecting this either. They kept announcing to clear areas for the storm, then announcing an all clear.  Then clear areas and finally "take cover"!  And at the point, most everyone in the park left.  Nothing else to do really.


"Weather is a great metaphor for life — sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and there’s nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella." ~Terri Guillemets