Sea World

We finally made our trip to Sea World! It's only about fifteen minutes from our house but this was our first time visiting. They have a "Here's to Heroes" program where active duty military and dependents get free admission once per year. So we took advantage of that. We did spring for a special breakfast buffet with the Sesame Street characters. Will had a couple bites of bacon and a few sips of milk before the characters came out. After that, he didn't eat a thing (though we had given him an English muffin before leaving the house). David and I took turns chasing Will around while the other ate.

Will got to meet all of his favorites except Grover. He met Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Zoe, and Bert and Ernie. He was fascinated by them but he was very reluctant to get too close. So most of our pictures are of him standing a few feet away. By the end he was comfortable enough to "high five" some of the characters. Mostly he just ran from one to the other, pointing and saying each of their names. I think he enjoyed himself, even if he was keeping his distance.

After the breakfast Will got to ride the Sesame Street carousel. He also saw Rosita and the The Count from Sesame Street. Then we checked out some of the animal habitats. We saw dolphins being fed, the aquarium with sharks, stingrays, eels and other sea life, and the penguins. Will wasn't as interested in the penguins as he was in the moving walkway in front of the penguin exhibit.

After the animals we went to one of the pavilions to see a show called Azul. It was mostly a dolphin and beluga whale show but it also had some acrobatics and aerial stunts along with some synchronized swimmers. Once the show started, Will was very entertained. He was clapping along, laughing and dancing. Though we were in the "splash zone" we didn't get wet.

After Azul it was time for lunch. We went back to the Sesame Street section and had a pizza and pasta buffet at "Rosita's Cafe." Will ate a slice and a half of pizza then was anxious to get back outside. After lunch we put his swimming gear on and he played in the Sesame Street splash park with David while I rested on a bench. By about 2:00, we'd had enough of the sun and called it a day. Will was asleep within a few minutes of being in the car. We put him in bed after we got home but so far he's still awake. Seems like no matter how tired he is, if he falls asleep in the car then putting him down for a nap is a lost cause. We're still holding out hope- we'd like to take naps too!