Our Visit to Seaworld

First of all, I apologize to those who come to this blog to hear about the adventures of new New Englanders. You might be asking yourself, "Seaworld? Since when is there a Seaworld in New England? Perhaps they mean the aquarium in Boston?" Well, you'd be justified in asking yourself that.

Still, we took a bunch of pictures in Florida and we have to put them somwhere. :)

One of Erin's requests for our trip home was to visit SeaWorld since she loves Shamu and went to the park often during her summers working at Busch Gardens in college. I hadn't been to SeaWorld since I was 12 or 13 and couldn't remember anything about the place other than heat and big aquariums. I was happily surprised to find they have improved the park quite a bit and it's a good value if you love sea creatures.

Here's what you are seeing in the above pictures:

1. Even though I'm a diver, beachgoer and have lived in Florida off and on for 36 years, I had never touched a dolphin in my life. Erin was shocked to hear that and told me to pony up the $5 to get some baitfish. It was really thrilling to touch a dolphin and see it up close.

2. This is a horrible shot of us in front of the SeaWorld lighthouse that I'm only putting in for completion. This is one of those posed shots where you hand the camera to a fellow tourist and take your life in your hands. Obviously, the guy had never worked one of these strange photographic contraptions before. He didn't even say "Say cheese!" What has happened in the digital camera age where we just snap a pic with no warning??

3. I've seen several dolphin shows in my time, but nothing compares to the incredible show they have at SeaWorld. They've combined the singularly dull dolphin, bird and acrobatic shows into one which makes for a fantastic experience. It's not like dolphins are doing any better tricks over the years, but they've Disneyed up the show.

4. This is the dolphin we petted and fed. Cute bugger!

5. The Antartic section of the park was a letdown because the polar bear exhibit was closed down. Still, they have a place for adults to crawl around in polar bear cave simulations. Then again, it might just be for kids...