Carter's poor nose was a faucet by now but that was the only symptom of his cold. It was really annoying for everyone though because he needed it wiped all the time and he hates having it wiped.
The weather was really nice on Sunday and we decided it would be a good day for Sea World. I had bought our tickets online before we left and the ticket is good for a second visit within a week. So since we figured we'd be coming back, we wanted to go there early in the trip.
We got to the park just before it opened at 9 am and were some of the first people in (this is when Carter's early wake up time is nice).
Sea World's newest roller coaster, Manta, is near the entrance of the park and since there was no line, Brian went on it first thing (I was a little jealous - hopefully we'll be back sometime when I'm not pregnant!).
Carter LOVED watching this ride though. He would point at the cars as they climbed the track. He would do this anywhere in the park that he could see the ride.
We tried to watch to see if we could see Brian (he ended up riding in the front and really liked the ride).
When the ride got close to us, Carter kept covering his mouth and squealing. It was very cute!
Carter and I also checked out the sea turtle and flamingo exhibits while we waited for Brian. Carter really liked the flamingos. He kept pointing and yelling at them.
Next we went to the Whale and Dolphin Theater to see the Blue Horizons show. The show has lots of dolphins and birds and people doing acrobatics. We thought this was the best show at Sea World and Carter really got in to it.
Here are some videos of the show and Carter's reaction. I did a poor job filming the performing, but you get a good idea of how much Carter enjoyed it.
After the show we walked around for a little bit to see some of the animals and Carter eventually took a nap in his stroller. We saw alligators, manatees, sea lions, and seals.
Carter petting a manatee statue ...
The sea lions and seals begging for fish you could buy and feed them ...
This is how Carter likes to sleep, with his hands behind his head ...
We stopped for lunch at The Terrace restaurant. We brought all of Carter's food with us from home and that saved a ton of money since it's so expensive to eat in the parks. Carter will sometimes share food with us when we go out, but it's really hit or miss. One time he'll love something and the next time we go there, he spits out the exact same food.
The park started getting a lot more crowded in the afternoon. We were really glad that we got there so early and were able to do so much without a lot of people around.
After lunch, we went to the children's area, Shamu's Happy Harbor. Carter rode the carousel first and loved it as usual.
We got our picture taken with Shamu ...
Carter really liked the characters at the beginning of the trip. Here's a clip of him giving Shamu "five" ...
There was a really cool, giant, multi-story rope playground in the children's area. We tried to let Carter play on it a little, but he was just too small to go anywhere.
Brian took Carter on the Jazzy Jellies ride. It went up in the air and you could make it spin. Carter wasn't all that excited by it, but didn't hate it either.
Next we went to the underwater viewing area of the killer whales. We were at Sea World on Sunday and again on Friday. It was Wednesday that one of the trainers was killed by one of the killer whales so we luckily missed all the drama at the park.
Carter liked staring at the whales and would occasionally point them out to us.
Then we headed over for another show at the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium. This one was called Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. We weren't as excited about this show, but it turned out to be really entertaining.
Before the show started there was a pirate that made fun of people as they entered the stadium. Luckily we came in the opposite side so we were spared. He was really funny though.
The show was just okay at first - the acting was really bad.
Carter paid attention and chewed on his fingers a lot.
The show got good though when the otter unexpectedly attacked the sea lion! The otter wasn't supposed to be on stage but came out of nowhere and bit the sea lion's rear flippers. The sea lion got spooked and went swimming throwing off the entire show. The cast wasn't sure what to do and had to make up new dialogue. The otter also left a map on stage that was supposed to be missing for awhile. The cast did a good job being funny about the whole situation and making things up. When they started getting somewhat on track, the woman sneezed and forgot all her lines. Things just started going even more downhill from there.
Animals weren't doing what they were supposed to, such as going backstage instead of performing. And when one guy put his arm in a hole, it was supposed to look like it was coming out of another but the second guy forgot to pull up his sleeve. That led to more improvised lines and more laughter. The show ended up being really entertaining, but I don't think it would normally be all that great.
Carter liked that other people were laughing and clapping so much and that made him do the same things.
After the show, we went over to the Shark Encounter. We thought this aquarium was a bit lame, small, and overcrowded. We'd recommend skipping his exhibit.
Here's Carter checking out some of the sharks and rays outside of the aquarium ...
Carter fell asleep in his stroller after this and we sat on a bench and relaxed for a little bit. When Carter woke up, we started heading over to Shamu Stadium to see the Believe show.
Here's Carter and me on Shamu!
This stadium is a lot bigger than the others we were at during the day so Carter couldn't see as well. The show is slower with slow music and Carter got restless quickly. When he got cranky, we moved up to the top of the stadium where it was empty until the end of the show. Carter was much better up there. I think he was just bored (and getting worn out).
After the show, we went back to Shamu's Happy Harbor to see if Carter wanted to run around a little before we left. There was a fun looking sand play area but as soon as we put Carter's bare feet down on the sand, he screamed. He hated the sand for some reason. This kid does not look happy, does he?
We decided that it was time to head out since it was getting close to dinner time (4:45 pm) and we'd been at the park almost 8 hours. We ran by the hotel to heat up some dinner for Carter and went to Boston Market for dinner. Then we headed back to the hotel for a little play time and bath and had Carter in bed around 7:45 pm.
We had so much fun and the weather was beautiful - sunny and warm but got a little cloudy and breezy in the late afternoon to cool it off to a perfect temperature. We think Carter had a lot of fun too. This past week when there was a news story on TV about dolphins or seals (I don't remember exactly), Carter pointed at the TV and started making his "oooh, oooh" sound. He seems to remember the animals he saw at Sea World which we think is pretty cool.
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