Sea World field trip

We went to Sea World for a home school field trip this month. We had to leave our house at 5:30 am to get though Austin before the morning traffic. The children were all bundled up in blankets in the van. I hoped they would sleep so they'd be well-rested for the long day ahead, but we had friends in the van, so they were awake chatting and giggling. Long drives are always so much better with friends.

When we arrived at Sea World, the first thing we visited was the dolphins. There was a low wall around the dolphin pool so kids could lean out and put their hands down into the water. It was so amazing to watch these beautiful creatures swim so close. A friend bought fish to feed dolphins and gave a fish to each child. Sarah was so afraid of the dolphins even though she wanted to feed them. Each time one would swim up, she's pull back in fear. The poor dolphin kept trying to eat, but caught nothing each time. She finally gave her fish to me and I fed it while she touched it's nose.

Matthew loved the shark tank building. It was so neat to watch all the great white sharks swim right next to us. Aquariums are always so awe-inspiring. I love visiting aquariums! We next visited the penguin house and watched 'snow' fall out of a snow machine in the animal area. The sea lions were surprisingly loud, it was as though a loud speaker was connected to each animal. It was so fun to listen to them. I could feel the sound vibrate in my body each time they barked. After exploring all the animal exhibits, we picnicked for lunch with two other families. Daniel loved the juice boxes so much that it was a battle to convince him to eat anything else!



After dining in the shade we went to the Shamu show. It was the best part of the day! There was an educational presentation on killer whales and their habitats. The children were so raptured that they remembered everything. It was so cool watching their faces as the whales entered the pool. Unveiled delight and excitement. There were 5 whales in the show, all doing flips and leaps. We were in the spash zone so it was fun to watch the waves of water wash over the walls. It was so amazing to watch these huge animals move so gracefully, I was overcome with awe and I was so thankful to be able to observe such a beautiful creation. I just had thrills in my chest and goosebumps the entire show.

After the show we trekked across the park to the sea lion show. We sat on the third row so the kids could see everything really well. They had sea otters, a walrus, and sea lions come onstage for lessons about their body features and habitats. The walrus blew a kiss goodbye at the end of her show. Surprisingly, you could actually hear the kiss. This delighted the children. It was the best part of the show to them. The sea lions were hilarious. They did all sorts of neat tricks with a group of actors, like walking on their front flippers, diving off a high dive, and doing flips. The kids loved it when they all waved goodbye. It was such a long walk back to the van, and we were exhausted, but the day was definitely worth it. I couldn't stay awake on the 2 hour drive home, so I really wanted to drop into bed, but I had to go take an Anatomy test the minute we arrived home. I scored a 98% on the written exam. Hurrah!