Sea World | San Antonio

Our first week in San Antonio we got VIP passes to Sea World from a friend of Andrew's. We got to go in the park before everyone else and get a special tour of the place and all the behind the scenes stuff and a few attractions that weren't open to the public yet. They paid for our lunch and we got wristbands that let us get on the rides without waiting in line. Basically it was the best day ever. (And I just couldn't resist dressing Milo in his whale onesie, courtesy of my pal Stevie. And that hat?? I die)

Initially I was worried about taking Milo to a theme park all day. It's loud and hot and there's no great place to nurse and I was worried he would get overstimulated. But I should really stop worrying about that baby, because he is such a dream child all the time. He slept most of the morning in his stroller and I managed to feed him during the sea lion show and the beluga show and at mealtimes and it worked out just peachy. 

One of the coolest parts was a brand new aviary that they just opened. We were the first people to go inside and it was pretty sweet. The aviary is right off their water park and the lazy river goes right into it. I'm kinda dying to go back just to do that. There were about 35 different species of birds and for the most part they weren't scared of humans at all.

This little dude was my favorite. He (she?) beat out all the other birds to eat contentedly from my cup for a good 15 minutes. We just got each other, ya know?

As part of our VIP passes we also got to feed the sting rays, which I'd be lying if I said that wasn't slightly terrifying. You basically hold the fish in the water and they swim over it and suck with the force of a thousand dementor's kisses.

Also, fish creep me out.

I think the highlight of our day, however, was going to the sea lion show and then getting a special meet and greet with them afterwards. They gave us a glimpse into how they train them and get them to do crunches (seriously, they can do more sit-ups than I can) and how they have to change the show every day to fit the moods of the sea lions. Cause if a sea lion don't wanna swim, he ain't gonna swim.

And then we took a picture with this cutest little guy. Milo was less than thrilled because I had to cut off his food supply for this one. Also, 'scuse the hair. It forgot how to function in humidity.

So anyway, overall it was a pretty swell day and somehow Milo managed to stay happy the entire day (although he did have a bit of a meltdown that night) and did I mention I had never been to SeaWorld before? Well I hadn't. And now I have. Although, I didn't see the Shamu show, so that seems like some sort of crime. Maybe next time? Yeah, I'd totally go back again.

(all these lovely, slightly blurry photos brought to you by ze trusty iphone)