Shamu ate my angst

Wednesday was the big day: Sea World!

As a parent, I have my principles:

I have unwavering principles like going to church and reserving fruit snacks for emergency duress.

I have wavering principles like never buying Sonic slushes for my kids and limiting T.V. time.

And I have wavered principles like outfitting my kids in anything but Crocs and putting the clean clothes away before the next laundry day rolls around.

I feel like I should stand on some kind of principle when it comes to Sea World. But I don't know exactly what principle that is. I feel the same way about zoos. There is something unsettling, even depressing, about seeing those animals in captivity. Especially if it is for profit. From deep within, that tween animal-rights activist calls out to me. But, then again, I'm an animal-hater, remember? I don't really care THAT much about the elephants and lions and dolphins...do I? Many of them were born in captivity. Those people who work closely with them genuinely love animals for the most part. There are definitely more pressing matters in life than whether or not the toucan at the local zoo is happy or not.

More than anything, it's an amazing opportunity for my children! They can see zebras! And sharks! And penguins! Since we've had David and Mary, I have swallowed my angst about wild animals in captivity and pressed ahead because I love the joy on my kids' faces. (Besides, I trust that eventually they'll notice on their own that the poor jaguar at the Dallas World Aquarium who lives in a tiny glass cube is really depressed...and depressing.)

Because our family can get free admission to Sea World, I agreed that we should go while we were in San Antonio. A week before Greg came to visit, I grudgingly mumbled to David that we were going to go to Sea World. His face immediately lit up. It was nearly all Mary and David could talk about that week--seeing whales and dolphins and sharks. Their excitement was infectious. Any unwavering or wavering principles I may have had about Sea World were officially waved.

(No body DARE mention The Cove to me, okay? LA-LA-LA, I'm covering my ears and I can't hear you!!)

After a rainy Tuesday, Wednesday brought gorgeous sunshine and perfect temperatures. (In fact, it was so sunny that our first Sea World stop was the gift shop to pick up some hats for David and Mary. I wasn't organized this time, remember?) We were excited for our day! (And I steeled myself for the inevitable massive crowds.)

We arrived bright and early.

We first rushed over to feed the dolphins. Happy faces like this one greeted us.

Everyone (myself included) refused to touch the dead fish.

So Greg fed the dolphins on David's behalf. David was really excited! (But not enough to feed the dolphin himself.)

Mary was a little more nervous, but still very interested.

Cute kids in their new hats!

Next, Greg and David waited a hundred years to ride a little roller coaster. (Good thing they rode it in the morning because later that day it looked like the wait was more than a thousand years.)
The first show we went to was "Believe" with the killer whales. David and Mary were amazed!

The highlight of the show--of the day! of the trip! of the week! of my life?!--was the entrance of a two-month-old baby killer whale with his mother. People, it was the cutest thing! He followed his mommy around while she performed. Did you know baby killer whales are ADORABLE?! ADORABLE!!! Smile-on-your-face-tears-in-your-eyes ADORABLE! David FELL ON THE GROUND, saying, "Mom, it's just too exciting! I can't handle it!!" To see your kid so excited that he can't use his legs--my heart was melted through and through. Put me on a Sea World poster, film me in an ad--I was SOLD!

I didn't get much of a picture of Baby Shamu--I was too busy crying and laughing and pulling David off the ground--but in this one the baby is on the right.

After seeing the cutest thing ever in the entire world (okay, okay, expect for MY KIDS, of course), we split up. Daddy and Mary went to see Elmo.

Meanwhile, David and I conquered the Journey to Atlantis. David is a thrill-seeker, and with a 100-foot drop and super splash, it hit the spot! I was reminded again of what a good time David is. In describing the free fall sensation, David said, "My tummy was trying to say something to me!"

After meeting up with Mary and Daddy, we checked out "Azul," the new dolphin show. Again, David loved it.
LOVED IT.
The beluga whales were great.

And so were the dolphins, as well as the guy who provided some comic relief.

But I wasn't a big fan of the rest of the show. (I couldn't get past the horrendous costumes...and a little too much synchronized swimming.)

By this time, the park was PACKED. I do believe the entire state of Texas was at Sea World that day. (Except for those people who were wherever this family happened to go that day.) Procuring some food became quite the ordeal, as the lines were insanely long. I waited forty minutes to buy us a healthy lunch of churros and cotton-candy, while Greg took David and Mary to check out a NASCAR car.

The sea lion show was the last one on our agenda. It's fun and silly and tells a great little story. There was plenty of slapstick humor to keep a huge smile on David's face. I loved the show because one of the sea lions REFUSED to cooperate. For some reason, it made me feel so happy. Even liberated! What a relief to see one of the animals asserting its will. He didn't feel like performing...so he didn't. The cast improvised, the show went on, and it was a-okay that Mr. Sea Lion preferred to blithely swim around the pool rather than balance dishes on his nose. (The sea otter in the show was GREAT...and very cooperative. As was the Walrus.)

Finally, we headed over to the only ride we all could ride on together--the log flume. That's where we discovered the wait to be over 2 hours. Speaking of principles, I DO NOT wait in line two hours for a two minute ride. (This is why any trip to Disneyland this family makes will be on a Wednesday during the off-season. You can quote me on that.) David might get chocolate milk in his lunch now, and Mary may get her binkie sometimes in public, but there are some principles that will NEVER be compromised in this family!! When the lines are that long...it's time to go home...

...after a stop at the gift shop for a couple of cheaply-made, over-priced stuffed sea animals. I can't be expected to live by ALL of my principles, right?