Day 10 - Seaworld

Shaaaaa...MU!

We saw Shamu last but he was absolutely fantastic!

We started out nice and early this morning, it was a 2 hour drive to San Diego to Seaworld. I almost fell asleep on the way there.

One of the first things we did there was meet the dolphins. They had this large pool where we all stood around the sides and the dolphins came right up to you for pats on the head. You could lean right in and rub their noses, it was awsome! Josie was a bit scared to actually pat them on the head, but she did get very close! Tony and I had some pats and it was just amazing!

The first show we got to see, after having some lunch, was the Dolphin Show, which Josie absolutely loved. The jumps and heights they got to were just amazing. There was a gag thing that we saw last time where they pick a family out of the crowd and the mother does a thing with the dolphins and everyone claps, and then the mum and dad watch while the little kid does a thing with the dolphins and while everyone is watching the kid, the mum falls in and gets saved by the dolphins and everyone applauds and it turns out the mother is one of the trainers. It was funny the first time we saw it, a bit less amazing the second time ;-)

We then headed over to the Pets Stadium for the Pets Rule show and on the way we ducked into Shamu's Happy Harbour Playground where Josie had a wonderful time on the equipment. The playground itself was just amazing, catering to kids of all ages, down to little crawlers with a supervised area.

Also on the way to the Pets Rule show we stopped in to see the huge Clydesdale Horses. Josie just loves horses and she was amazed by their size.

Just before finally arriving at the Pets Rule show we made a brief detour to the Journey to Atlantis ride where Harri was brave enough to go on the ride by herself. Tony and I are really not into rides.. we don't like the acceleration thing (you might remember from the Disneyland Update), but we did take photos and applaud Harri when she came down the huge waterfall drop.

Finally we got to the Pets Rule show. It was utterly amazing, and I htink one of my favourite parts of Seaworld. They had the most amazing trained dogs and cats and pigs and even pigeons! The dogs did everything from clean the house in preparation for a date, to catching a boat across a pool. The cats ran up a huge pole and across tightropes to run into small doors, and they all just ran from one place to another, absolutely coordinating with eachother.

They had things like 3 black cats running into a large pretend pot of cream and then coming out completely white, or 3 black cats and a white cat running into a door and then 4 black and white cats running out of the same door, as if the 3 black cats blended with the white cat. It was all very funny. Especially when a large daschund ran into this big hotdog and three daschund pups ran out.

After that it was time for the Clyde and Seamore's Risky Rescue show at the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium. On the way we saw some sharks and Manatees but they we in dark rooms so picture taking there was difficult.

Clyde and Seamore's Risky Rescue show was as awsome as the last time we saw it. The Sea Lions were amazing, the Otters were very cute, and the Walrus was just magnificent.

And then it was time for Shaaaaa.....MU!

The show was just awsome. Josie had wanted to sit in the soak zone, where you get wet, but it was 530pm by this time and getting a bit too cold so we sat the the topmost section of the soak zone and didn't get wet, much to her chagrin.

The killer whales were just amazing. I just cannot put into words how magnificent they are, and how intelligent! Its one thing to see dolphins doing these things, but to see a huge whale jump and turn in the air is a sight to behold.

By the time the Shamu show finished the park was closing so I quickly got a couple of magnets and a tshirt for Josie and we were off.






I suggested to Harri, as we were leaving, that we should grab some dinner asap because Josie would fall asleep soon, but Josie and I were so exhausted that we both fell asleep about 3 minutes into the 2 hour drive home and didnt wake up at all. I was just so knocked out that I remember Harri parking the car back at home, bolting inside to go to the loo, and Tony coming around to wake me up. He kept poking me in the arm and the head and the cheek, and I remember thinking "I need to wake up", but I just could not make myself wake up, or open my eyes! I felt absolutely drugged and it took probably a full 5 minutes before I could move. Most bizarre.

Now on a completely different note, we got home to find Sven with a very funny story! Should anyone receive an email with an mpg of someone driving off with a petrol bowser sticking out of their little red Mazda MX5, that would be Sven. He had stopped into a petrol station to get some fuel, and because in the USA they are able to just lock the bowser into place while fueling, well, he kinda forgot about it and drove off. You hear about it happening, but personally, I have never known anyone who actually did it! Especially someone who works in the automotive industry, *designing cars*.

~Later Dudes~