San Antonio - Seaworld

James - Seaworld is kind enough to let Soldiers and their families into their park for free. Tami & I decided that it was time to take them up on their offer, which happened to save us a hundred dollars.



Tami had one request when we planned the trip, she just wanted to see Shamu. I tried to keep that in mind, but I had no idea how Seaworld really worked. I didn't know if it was a theme park, or an informational place like the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It turns out that it was something of both, though mostly a theme park.

I have to admit that I did not enjoy our first little bit there. We spent about 45 minutes waiting in line for our first ride. The ride did turn out to be fun, even though it was over too quick.

They have several different amphitheaters spread out thru the park. The first show we stopped at had many different animals saved from shelters. Dogs, cats, geese, a Shetland pony, a kangaroo, and even a de-stinkified skunk.

Then Tami finally got her wish. We went to see Shamu! We sat down in the 'splash zone' where the whales would jump out of the water and splash us, or they would flip their tails at us. Pictures just don't describe how cool it was.



We went on a few other rides after Shamu. The two most memorable about made Tami lose her lunch, except that we never got around to eating lunch. The first ride was suspended from above so you sit in a seat, but your feet are hanging out over nothing. In a series of twists and turns and going upside down both of us were feeling sick to our stomachs at the end.

The last ride we went on really stirred things up. It didn't have so many twists and turns, but it went up and down a lot. Tami & I sat in the very back. Several times over the track I actually left my seat, if not for the strap over us I would have flown out. I had a blast, but Tami had to take a breather for a few minutes after that one.

Tami wanted some more of Shamu so we headed to his last show for the night, which was different than the day show. Whales are just cool.



To end the night we went to a 4D show. It was the Haunted Lighthouse by R.L. Stine. Not only was the show awesome and a 3D picture, but they had other sensory things that happened too. When a guy took a drink and spit it out, the chair in front of you sprayed water on you. When rats ran on the floor in the movie you felt air blowing across your legs. There were other things, but you get the drift.



We finally at our lunch at dinner at midnight when we got to our hotel room. We were both exhausted, but our San Antonio trip wasn't over yet. I'll let Tami write about our second day in San Antonio.