One of My Favorite Days of the Year…

In One of My Favorite Places on Earth…

There is probably no one who really understands how I love Sea World. I can’t help it. I just do. I also love Christmas Eve… I would say even more than most people love Christmas Eve. So it pretty much doesn’t get any better than spending Christmas Eve at Sea World…

Now, that’s not saying we didn’t have our share of mishaps. We always do. But here are some highlights…

It was surprisingly not very busy, at all, for the first few hours. Phil, Seth, Grace, Caleb, and Ian walked on Journey to Atlantis, and when they got off, Seth, Grace, Caleb, and I jumped right back in line and waited only a short time. (Phil and Ian got soaked the first time around, and Ian exclaimed that he was never riding that ride again!) After that, Seth, Grace, and I walked on the Kraken, which was the first large scale looping roller coaster the kids have experienced. (Corkscrew at Cedar Point was their only previous upside down coaster, although they have ridden taller coasters, such as Magnum.) They both liked it, but Grace is really our huge roller coaster fan. A little later in the day, Grace and I walked on to Manta, which was a first for both of us, a flying coaster. It was absolutely incredible! I only have two regrets about that one… First, Grace’s hair was covering 90% of her face in the picture, so I didn’t think it was worth purchasing, and second, I am simply too old and out of shape at this point in my life to honor requests to get back in line immediately. We will be returning to Sea World later in the trip, at which point I’ll throw her hair in a scrunchie and get back on… The only other ride we hit this time around was the sea carousel. Poor Ian is just not much of a rider… he wouldn’t even get on a sea animal… just sat in the chariot.

We enjoyed the baby dolphins at the dolphin nursery, the seals and sea lions at pacific point preserve, penguin encounter, the jewel of the sea aquarium (which we have never been able to find on previous trips), shark encounter, and turtle point. Of course, petting the stingrays was a favorite for me, as always.

We had never purchased the all day dining plan before, but I thought that it made sense for this trip. In hindsight, maybe not… The restaurant that was supposed to be open for breakfast wasn’t, and I spent the rest of the day trying to push my family through as many lines as possible to get our money’s worth (The Spice Mill once and Voyagers twice)… Added to the fact that we are taking turns being sick and the Terrace Garden Pizza buffet was a bust, what this translates into is that I ate a whole lot of cheesecake… And I am totally not proud of this, but I think it’s worth remembering that I even at e one piece with my hands… ha… long story… If there’s anybody out there who still thinks I have any measure of class, that probably ought to put an end to that…

Sea World traditionally has some of the greatest shows ever. We were very excited to experience the special Christmas shows this time around. A few notes on that… We love Clyde and Seamore. We love how they conquer Pirate Island every time we visit them. It was really fun to see them decorate for Christmas in “Clyde and Seamore’s Countdown to Christmas”, and you just can’t beat a walrus coming down the chimney… but did they say something about Santa being in our hearts? Really? Someone, please tell me I heard that wrong… On the other hand, “Shamu Christmas Miracles” was a beautiful mix of sacred and traditional Christmas themes and music (although the shows do lose some of the magic now that the trainers cannot enter the water), and “Oh Wondrous Night” was an absolutely incredible artistic rendition of the real Christmas story. They got it right with that one…

We ended our day with a fireworks show, some dancing trees, and a whole handful of sleepy kids…

Happy Birthday, Jesus…

L.

Day 3 Photo Count: 165
Photo Highlights:

A Couple of Clownfish

Hmmm... Just like Mom?

Caleb & Ian Watching the Fish

A Very Interesting Specimen in the Human Exhibit

Finale of "Oh Wondrous Night"