Are We There Yet?

Joey and I planned a trip to Sea World months ago but didn't tell the girls until the morning of. Layla asked us, "Are we there yet?" only ten times on the road. Overall, the trip was a success! 

 

Car Ride 

Before we drove to Sea World Thursday morning, the girls and I walked/biked to the park to release some energy before getting in the car for a 7 hour drive.  This was key. We brought toy computers, books, stickers, coloring pads, a blanket and a stuffed animal each. It wasn't until 2 hours in that we felt the need to pull out the iPad. The iPad and it's heavy duty leather case fit snugly between the two front seats giving them both a perfect view of the screen. We stopped at a fast food restaurant in Yuma for lunch and let them play for 45 minutes in a play area. This was a hit. They napped well afterwards.

Sea World 

Joey and I went to Sea World, pre kids, in 2008 so we knew what to expect. Sea World is known for its amazing shows so we scheduled our day accordingly.

Joey and I playing it cool at Sea World in 2008



 

We saw a few random animals like flamingos and llamas. We also saw penguins, turtles, a variety of whales, kangaroos, a walrus and birds. 

Dolphin Show 2008

Sea World really brought it up a notch since 2008. The Dolphin Show stage was more elaborate than I remembered. They added birds, several different kinds of whales, dancers, divers and a high trapeze artist to the act. This was more like a Vegas show than anything.

Dolphin Show 2012

At the Shamu Show, Layla sat between Dad and I held our hands. Throughout the presentation, she hugged us each, patted our backs, looked us in our eyes and said, "I love you" to both of us.  Layla is thankful for so many things and she expresses it well. She makes us melt.

Faven enjoyed the Sesame Street area of Sea World the best. She bounced around different toddler and pre-k exhibits. Faven was too scared to take a pictures with the Elmo and Ernie and said over and over, "I'm scared!" I wasn't sure how Layla would react. Elmo and Layla really hit it off!

The Pet Show was our last stop of the day. Faven fell asleep and didn't make it to the 4pm showing. Layla and I giggled during the entire show and gasped when we saw strange animals like ostrich,  kangaroos and "big fat pig" as Layla would say in a low voice,  run through the set.

Pet Show

We aren't sure we would have made the trip if it wasn't for Joey's Marriott points he accumulated from traveling so much on business this past year. We stayed two nights for free and were upgraded to a pent house suite. If we could do it over, we would go to Sea World for two days and spend a few hours at the park each day. Faven was a bit too young to really enjoy what the park had to offer. All and all we had a great time!