SeaWorld

SeaWorld was really a cool place. Different from any zoo or aquarium we've been to. In addition to animals, they have a few rides. Most of them involve getting wet, so the lines were not long when we were there. I had to buy a pair of dry pants after the one we went on. I was frozen! There are also various shows, with dolphins, sea lions, Even dogs and cats(we skipped that), but the highlight of the day was seeing Shamu the killer whale.
They stagger all the showtimes, so you can see all of them in a day if you choose. We opened the place, and stayed till about a half hour before closing. We went to the dolphin show, a 4D movie thing, and the killer whale show. We skipped the pets and sea lions. I think we were searching for a jacket to buy for Max when the sea lion show started.
At the shows, you have the option of sitting in the "soak zone" down in front. They were not exaggerating! Eric and I sat up a little higher, but the boys sat down in front for the dolphins and whales and got splashed in a major way! After the dolphin show, Doug got a jacket too. We made sure to keep everything dry during the whales' performance.
We were there on a cloudy, cool Friday, perfect for a small crowd. I can see how on a nice day, it would really be packed, and you might spend a good part of the day waiting in lines. That was not the case for us, so it was a great day. Pretty much worth the 180.00 admission fee for four(with coupons). San Diego is quite lush, but I was told that none of the plants are native. Pretty none the less.

Shamu is a truly awe inspiring sight, and such a tolerant ambassador for his species.

Lots of places to buy fish and feed the animals. My favorite was the stingrays. The boys got freaked out by them, so I got to do all the feeding of the rays :). On a more crowded day, I can see this being really difficult. At the dolphin feeding, there was a pretty long line to get the food.

This is at the tide pool.