Day 7 - Sea World!

It's been awhile since I've been to Sea World, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the changes to the park.  I loved seeing beluga whales, polar bears and of course- Shamu.  I'm always conflicted going to zoos and marine parks...I feel so bad looking at how restrictive the cages/pens are, and most especially at how some of these amazing creatures have been plucked from the wild and reduced to show ponies. But at the same time, I also acknowledge that by exposing children (& adults) to these fascinating creatures- we're able to create awareness, curiosity and often- love & appreciation for the rest of the animal kingdom in a much more profound way (than learning about them from a textbook).  I admit that this is a cop out, but...um. Sorry.  

Another thing that seems to be in every single theme park is a 3D or 4D movie (not sure what the difference is).  Ryan loved reaching out and trying to grab whatever object was in front of us!  :-)  

One thing we rarely ever see in the Hawaiian Islands are starfish, so we can never resist getting to hold them!

Being silly in the giant observation, rotating elevator.

I absolutely adore these giant nets and scrambling around them mid-air!

Three little polar bears in hibernation.

We caught a second Shamu show, but this time, at Joey's insistence...in the Splash Zone!

Ba ha ha ha.

We had three queen sized beds in our family suite that night, but all three boys insisted they wanted to sleep on the pull out sofa. Two fell asleep very quickly, one naughty one stayed up until 11pm and then crawled into bed with me.  :-)  Can you spot the faker?  (Hint: He's hiding his face pretending to be asleep)