On Land and Sea

m>swanky boyfriend running the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon Sunday morning.

He was very excited and looking to beat his PR.  And by the looks of this picture, very ready to stay hydrated.

He sported pink laces to show his support for sweat pink. What a guy!

I have to admit, I was a bit sad being on the sidelines versus running in the race.  I am getting the urge to do another half!!!  The boy did great by the way!  He beat his time last year by almost an hour!

The next day…

One of the treats for running the San Diego marathon was scoring a free ticket into Sea World. Pretty awesome, right!?!  We also got a discounted ticket for friends and family.  There really wasn’t a reason not to go. 

It has been years since I have been to Sea World.  I don’t remember a whole lot but it feels like so much has changed.  Strangely, my memories include sitting in the splash zone watching Shamu,  cruising around in a Shamu shaped stroller and (I know this is ridiculous) but discovering my love for a cookie dough ice cream bar-which they no longer have.  Believe me, I checked.  

The fishies were just as cute as I remembered from years ago!!

We hit most the park in in an afternoon.  Since it was a Monday, we lucked out with very few crowds.  We started by visiting the dolphins.  They are so pretty!!

I am still so amazed by how high they are able to jump.  One of my bucket list goals is to swim with dolphins.

The décor of the park is really neat.  I don’t remember it looking like this when I was younger. 

One memory that came back to me was picking up a starfish.  I was not as adventurous this time around.

A picture from afar worked just as well.

The boy was most excited to see the turtles.  He told me growing they used to have a couple tortoises. 

One thing I seemed to forget about San Diego is how my hair doesn’t want to cooperate.  I decided to not defy nature and went with a curly (albeit frizzy) pony most the trip.

Although theme park snacks can really do you in when it comes to prices, we had to indulge a bit.  It was salt all the way in this case.  The boy and I shared a salted pretzel (which was salt overload so we scraped some off)….

and I got a pickle!!  It was really sour, but very delicious!

The highlight for the boy was watching the Pets Rule show!  He is an animal lover just like me.

They had cats, dogs, pigs, birds, kangaroos…you name it!!

It was the most adorable show I have ever seen!  We were so impressed they were able to train all of them.

Being the  crazy cat lady that I am, I was very excited to see all the cats in the show.  They had them jumping and climbing all sorts of ropes.  They shared that the animals in the show were all rescues.  I loved hearing that.  Definitely a must see!

The boy and I ventured over to see the penguins and polar bears.  And I have to point out, we were by far the oldest ones waiting for a picture in this. 

There were a few penguins outside before we went in the exhibit.  It sure looks like they have the life, don’t you think?

After going on a bumpy wild artic helicopter motion machine ride, it took us right through to the polar bears.  Unless one was hiding, we only spotted this one guy. 

He was so stinking cute!!  After a bit he even splashed into the water and starting playing with a ball.  It’s funny how all animals enjoy playing.

I thought I would hang out in a polar bear den for a bit myself.

We couldn’t get over just how big they are.  The males can be up to 12 feet tall.  Look at their paws!  I don’t think I’d want to not have that glass between us.

Then we walked over to another aquarium which was by far was my favorite in the park.  I loved all the bright colors. 

I don’t know about you but a lot of these fishes and animals reminded me of Finding Nemo.  I couldn’t help but say, “Mine, Mine” when we’d spot a seagull. 

The last couple stops were watching the Sea Lions Live show which was just as fun as it was years ago….

and admiring pink flamingos that were just chilling out in the cool San Diego weather.

Maybe I was too young to ride, but I didn’t know Sea World offered so many attractions in ways of roller coasters and rides.  We waited toward the end of the day to ride The Manta, one of their newest rides.  It was a lot of fun!!

We didn’t end up sitting down to see the Shamu show, but we got a couple pictures of him swimming around.  I read a sign that said that they feed him about 25 pounds of fish a day!!! Crazy to think how much fish they go through there.

I know this may sound silly after seeing ALL these amazing attractions, but I think catching the otters eating on our way out was the highlight for me.  They lay the food on their tummies and just chow down.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!! I wanted to take one home with me.  Not sure if he’d like it in the hot Vegas weather though.

Hope you enjoyed reading!! I have a couple more posts of our trip in the works!

Have you ever been to Sea World?  What is your favorite sea animal?

Tagged as: rock and roll marathon, san diego, sea world, vacation