SEAWORLD San Diego

Ever since Scott was a child, the night before SeaWorld has always been a sleepless night.

This time, it was more because we were all sick... but still. Sleepless :)

If you find yourself in SoCal in during weeks 2-4 of January, it's a great time to visit the parks!  Basically empty.  Kind of eerily empty in fact.  

We got great seats for all the shows, no elbowing anybody to feed the sting rays and we walked on to every single ride.

Win!

This tall blue ride was our first stop.  You sit inside and twirl upward, about as high as the space needle to get a view of the park and plan out your route!

The #1 reason we went to SeaWorld was for me to learn about otters.  I have been confused about whether otters have legs or a tail for many years, so Scott being the SeaWorld enthusiast that he is made it his mission to show me the truth.  Here they are my friends: legs!

T kind of loved it there.  I think SeaWorld is more age appropriate for her than Disneyland right now- we're saving that for a few more years.

Pretty great.

Feeding the sting rays was a real highlight!  I thought T would be pretty timid, but boy was I wrong.  She was braver than me!  She put her hand right under their body and laughed when the ray sucked up the fish.  Once she was finish feeding one fish, she'd stand up and say "More! More! More!"

This show was a favorite!  They did game shows with the animals- Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and then they did a little Gangnam Style dance at the end.  Too funny!

Scott made sure we were there to see the piranha feeding right on time.  And it's a good thing we were, the fish was devoured in 30 seconds flat.  It was way too easy to picture your leg being ripped out and eaten chunk after chunk in place of the dead fish they ate.  Watch out for piranhas, those things are fierce!

Carrying the sliced oranges in our backpack was heavy, but worth it!  (Says the girl who didn't carry the backpack...) They were the perfect snack during the orca show!

Have you seen Blackfish or heard about the controversy?

Basically (according to this documentary which may or may not be bias), Orca whales aren't being treated right in captivity, and because of that they lash out at their trainers at unpredictable times.   Orcas have killed a number of humans and as of 4 years ago, the trainers are not allowed to get in the water with them.  Trainers used to ride them, launch off their backs, ski on them, and dive off their noses.  Now, the shows are still very impressive and fun, but not nearly as interactive.

After the show, I cornered a trainer and asked her if she was around when trainers could be in with the whales.  "Yes."  I asked her if she wishes she could still go in with them. "Yes."  It was very clear that she had been trained as to what she can and can't talk about... But she had such emotion when answering about how she wishes she could still go in, I changed my perspective on the matter.  I think that yes, the whales live in pools that are too small, and their migration patterns and insticts are messed up-- but without SeaWorld and other places who show orcas to the public, SO MANY people would miss out on the majesty this is this two ton animal.  Trainers are aware of the dangers of their job and they chose it anyway.  Like Firefighters, sky dive instructors, policeman, any profession that is life threatening-- these people are aware of the risks and voluntarily choose to do this.  Bottom line:  I wish the trainer I spoke with could get in the water too.