Sea World

This isn’t a real post; I just want to share some pics I took at Sea World yesterday, and this is the most convenient place for me to display a stack of photos.

Orcas are always bigger in real life than I expect them to be. They are technically dolphins, not whales, so my brain always thinks of them as large-dolphin-size. And then I see them again in real life and remember that they are actually small-whale-size. Photos don’t really do them justice.

This was a belated birthday trip for Elizabeth, who turned 15 about three weeks ago. My little (hah, she’s taller than me) adrenaline junkie wanted to check out the new roller coaster, Manta. When we saw it in person Manta looked disappointingly tame — no loop-de-loops or steep drops or gimmicks, just a nice swoopy coaster. It’s unexpectedly fun to ride, though, we did it twice yesterday and loved it. (Actually there is a gimmick, but you don’t see it until the ride begins.)

The older coaster, “Journey to Atlantis,” is still the reigning favorite. Elizabeth’s bff Emma rode it once, Luke and I rode it twice and Elizabeth braved the chilly weather and splashy soakiness to ride it three times.

I love the Atlantis-themed aquariums in and around that ride. Really beautiful designs.

They’ve added a few new rides besides Manta since the last time we were there.

There’s also a new sea-turtle exhibit over by the Shark Encounter.

Sea turtles know how to boogie.

Can’t remember which aquarium this guy was in. He seemed to enjoy looking out as much as we enjoyed looking in.

I don’t know what these are, but I like them!

Petting the mantas.

Why do they call these sea lions? They look and sound like dogs…all they need is little corgi legs.

April in San Diego is gorgeous. Everything is in bloom.

Obligatory “smile big” pic. Can’t believe how tall Luke is getting.

That’s probably enough for one post. Happy Birthday, sweet girl. You make me so proud.

Addendum: A Sea World rep has asked if I would include a link to the park in this post. I don’t really do advertising on my blog, but I see no harm in this case — Sea World is pretty awesome and we love it.

So here is where you can check out the park’s attractions and visiting info.

(I have no affiliation with Sea World and I’m not being paid to add the link, it just seems like a good cause.)