Whale of a Time

Last Wednesday I got to be a chaperone for Cindy's 5th grade field trip to Sea World in Orlando.  The last time I went to Sea World I think I was on a field trip in 5th grade.  It had been FOREVER.  I was terrified that my shoes would be melting to the cement by the end of the day, however, yes, it was hot, but my shoes are still intact and by the end of the day a nice breeze came in and I survived just fine.  And bonus, hardly anyone was there- so my rule of never visiting a Florida theme park during peak season was not broken.  

We got to see the killer whales in a show twice- they put on an extra show for all the school kids right when you get there.  Quite remarkable that they can train these giant beasts.  

Cindy and her friend Riley decided to sit VERY CLOSE at the second show.  I was sitting a nice twenty rows up from them, but I knew that when I saw this:

They were getting soaked.  

Sea World is actually a pretty great park!  I gotta admit I was surprised.  

Next we hit the dolphin show.... 

Thanks to the giant bar blocking my awesome photo.  

When we showed this picture to Luke, he asked if this was Cindy.  

Now THAT would be a field trip, my friend.  

We also go to see this giant manatee doing the backstroke...

Some sweet sea turtles...

(Duuuuuuuude....)

This blind possum.  Not at night!

And a seal show starring a walrus, an otter,  and two seals- one of which that was just NOT going to do the tricks that day.  Which made the show about 10 times more funny in my opinion.  

We got ice cream and watched the Manta coaster for a while.  

Which is my favorite way to do roller coasters.  

We also go to see PENGUINS!  And that was not my favorite part of the day just because the penguin exhibit is 32 degrees.  It didn't hurt, but those little guys are just cute!

 

The last thing we did before leaving at the end of the day is head over to the Dolphin Nursery outdoor tank and watch them for a solid 30 minutes.  Highly entertaining!  One of those things was a little creeper!

Cindy is upset that she is not a dolphin trainer,
but one day she will run that park!!

Who needs a selfie stick when you got a camera with a timer and stanchion 20 feet away?

I would like to publicly recognize and thank Cindy for her amazingly beautiful cooperating picture faces on this day.  Having that friend with us really did the trick!