San Antonio Sea World!

Sea World!!  Going to Sea World has always been a dream of mine.  It is up there with Disney World and Hawaii.  I love marine animals and considered being a marine biologist for a while but never got into my science courses enough.  So when we moved to Texas and learned about the free day at Sea World for military families, we were thrilled!!  Sea Word has a program called "Here's to the Hero's" where active duty military and dependents get free admission and then coupons for 30% off food and merchandise once a year.  Obviously an opportunity we couldn't pass up. We took off Thursday night before Labor Day weekend and spent the night in San Antonio so we could wake up and be ready for Sea World as soon as it opened!  We woke up to Caleb jumping up and down on his dad shouting,  "Dad, Dad we get to go to Sea World today!!!  For REAL!!"  He was so excited and we could barely get food in him or keep him in the hotel room.  Caleb had seen commercials for Sea World and knew exactly what he wanted to do and couldn't wait to go.  We were all so excited!

Caleb had one big wish at Sea World.  He wanted to pet a dolphin!  So our first stop was the dolphin pool and it happened to be feeding time.  We bought a few fish so Caleb could feed them, but after touching one fish, he quickly decided that he did not want to touch the slimy fish.  But he did reach out and touch a dolphin a few times.  I couldn't catch the moment with the camera but was close a few times.  They were so beautiful and amazing.  It was fun to just hang out and watch them.  We even got to hang out with one of the dolphin's keepers and talk to him.  Caleb asked him about what kind of schooling you needed to work with dolphins and told the man that he was going to be a veterinarian and loved to swim.  We were there for a little while because Caleb didn't want to leave and just loved sitting there watching them.

Next we went to the aquarium and saw the sting rays and sharks.

Our first glimpse of the killer whales while we were waiting for their show!  It was most definitely a highlight of the day.

We only got one family photo at Sea World, but we were excited to get it!  So here it is.  Our whole family at Sea World with the Otter before the Sea Lion Show.

The Sea Lions were beautiful and it was so fun to see the babies.  They are really funny animals.

Sesame Street characters have a home at Sea World so we got to see Bert and Ernie and Cookie Monster.  Caleb really liked seeing Cookie Monster.

When we passed this car, Caleb had to get a picture.  He loved the tail!  It is a pretty cool car.

I was bummed I couldn't get very good pictures of the penguin exhibit but it was a great exhibit and fun to see some Emperor Penguins.

Saying Good-bye to Shamu!

It was an amazing day and we had so much fun!  It was truly magical and something we won't forget!

Caleb wanted a fun memento from Sea World, so we got this super cute and soft Shamu.  He loves it and has named him Willy.  We now take Willy everywhere and they are super cute together!

The Perfect End to a Perfect Day!