Sea World

Friday, Jason and I took Charlie to Sea World in San Antonio. We had been talking it up all week, but I was pretty sure she had no idea what she was in for. I had talked to a few people that had gone recently - a big thanks to Traci Cameron for all of the great tips. Planning an outing like that with a toddler can be kind of stressful if you have no idea what you are doing - and I didn't.

We left early to beat traffic and ended up at the park at 9am - a full hour before they opened. Luckily, they opened the actual gates at 9:30, so we weren't standing in line for too long. Those 30 minutes were rough for Charlie - she's impatient - she gets that from me.



Let's go!!
 

Our first stop was to the dolphin cove. Traci had told me that if you get there early, you can get in line to get fish to feed the dolphins. I was all about this. Well we got there, and got to see the dolphins up close and Charlie was digging it. And then about 10 minutes later, the novelty wore off. But I was still waiting for the feeding to happen. But it wasn't. And I was getting impatient, and I just knew these yahoos that were walking up after us were going to steal my fish dish. So I finally went up and asked one of the workers, and wouldn't you know it - they decided TWO weeks ago to do away with the dolphin feeding thing. DARN! I was so looking forward to that. Oh well, time to make a move.

There first shows didn't start until 11, so we had some time to kill. We went to the shark exhibit and that was pretty entertaining - and air conditioned - yay! I was all about the first Shamu show, so we headed that way. I was worried about getting a good seat, so we got there about 25 minutes before the show started. Rookie mistake. Keeping a toddler entertained for that long was pretty rough, and she was "done" before the show actually started which was kind of a bummer. Also, I noticed there were a ton of seats open so I think we would have been fine showing up 5 minutes before. Lesson learned. I think Jason and I were more into Shamu that Charlie was. I felt like she was never looking in the right spot. We got a few "ohs" from her at the beginning, but not like I was expecting. Oh well - I thought that show was amazing.

Sharks are scary!

Ready for Shamu

For the other shows we went to, we got there right as the show started and it went so much better. There is a new show called Pets Ahoy, which dogs, cats, pigs, mice, etc that are trained to do all this awesome stuff. Charlie totally loved it. She also played at the Sesame Street splash pad. I totally wish I had packed my bathing suit because I could have gotten in there with her. I was HOT. And Charlie did NOT want to be in her stroller for a majority of the day. She wanted daddy to hold her - just daddy, not mommy. I have to say, I lucked out there.

We had a great time, but I think Charlie might still be just a tad young for a place like that. It was great, but by 3:30 we felt like we had done all we could/wanted to do, so we headed out - but not before Charlie scored a stuff Shamu from daddy! She loves that thing. Even this morning before school it was "Where's Shamu?" Adorable.

Daddy and Charlie about to get splashed!!

 

 

On the way home, we stopped by Ryan and Kay Lynne's and Charlie got to catch her first fish - with a lot of help from daddy!

The rest of our weekend was mellow, and much needed. And of course we ended it with a battle wound. Charlie got so excited about going "swimming" in the backyard that she ran into the corner of the door and ended up with a large goose egg and quite the bruise afterwards.