Sea World!

Will has been asking to go to Sea World for months now, so Rodney and I decided to surprise him with a trip to the park. It is owned by Anheuser-Busch (forgive the spelling!) and they give free admission to every service member and their dependants. So we all got in free! But I spent part of the money we saved on Lunch with Shamu, a lovely buffet lunch where the trainers bring the largest male killer whale, Ulysses, and have him perform a series of tricks while we eat. Will was much too excited to eat much, and took more than 50 Shamu pictures with his new Fisher-Price digital camera (this photos are coming soon!) Xan wasn't too sure what to think if the dolphins, but he warmed up to them as he gazed through the glass. Once he got the hang of the window concept, he had no problem hunkering down with Will to watch Ulysses scratch his back on a rock. Both boys were a bit wary of the Bat Rays, but Mom has a great time petting their slippery skins. Xan accidentally pitched his sippy cup in with the rays, but this must happen often, because the staff did not blink an eye, just got the pool strainer and gave it back. The rays didn't really seem to mind, either. Both boys took some time to warm up to touching Sea Stars at the tide pools, but once the inital testing period was over, both Will and Xan were expert Sea Star handlers. Tammy, a Sea World staffer, even took a couple minutes to answer Will's questions and gave him a Shamu sticker. Sea World wasn't very crowded at all. The worst part was waiting in line for the Shark Encounter, but Rodney got a great shot of a Bull Shark, so it was worth it. That was also his favorite animal to see. Will enjoyed the penguins - he asked to go through that attraction twice! So we did. My favorites were the manatees (we got Brandon a manatee bib) and the white Beluga Whale. He kept bobbing up and down in the water and he just looked like a solid piece of ice. Very interesting!