Our Califnornia Adventure: Part 3 - Sea World

The second full day in California consisted of another drive up the coast (down the coast?) to San Diego to SeaWorld!  I love SeaWorld.  I think I was more excited for that than the zoo.  I knew what to expect and how to navigate it, so I was pumped.  It was definitely everything I love about SeaWorld.  Animals, rides, exhibits, rare sea animals that we never get to see anywhere else..... I loved it.  All three kids really loved it.  Dare I say, even Billy loved it.

The boys and I rode "Journey to Atlantis".  Their first pretty major roller coaster/water ride.  They dragged me to it and almost ran through the riders line to get up to the loading dock.  The ride takes you up high, then immediately sends you down the water chute.  None of us were expecting the drop that soon.  Of course, that's where the camera was.  I wish I had bought it, because it was so funny.  I was holding on for dear life, but laughing my butt off; Gabe had grabbed his face and his hair was standing straight up; and poor little Brayden was holding on to the bar in front of him and had a look of sheer panic on his face.  It was pretty epic.  After the water drop, it took us up over to a roller coast portion of the ride where we zipped around tight corners and did a few of those drops where your stomach goes up into your throat.  The boys couldn't get off that ride fast enough.  They liked it and said it was cool, but they had no interest in riding it again.  I was quite amused.

We spent the rest of the day playing at the Sesame Street area where there were climbing ropes, slides, jumping platforms and a few rides.  The kids really loved it.  We saw the shows with dolphins, Shamu and rescued land animals.  All were great shows.  We walked through all the exhibits.  I think the kids liked the sharks the best.  Alyssa was scared at first, but once she realized that the sharks stayed safely behind the glass, she loved it.  The boys couldn't stop talking about all the different species.  I was impressed with how much Gabe knew about sharks already.  He's so smart. 

After a fun-filled day at SeaWorld, we knew it was time for the beach!  We had heard that La Jolla was amazing, so that's where we headed.  It was one of the few things Gabe was REALLY excited about.  As we came around the corner and found the beach, it was just a wall of people.  We circled for about two hours trying to find a place to park, or at least get out for a few minutes.  Nothing.  You just couldn't move.  All three kids were really disappointed, but it was getting late and we needed to get back to Anaheim.  First attempt at the beach was definitely a bust.