sea world

the few times that jack has previously been down to visit the “grands” in florida, we have not ventured too far from home … a visit to the park was about as far-flung as we got. and with reason … on the previous visits jack was just a little guy …

but this visit we had a big boy on our hands and, as such, we decided it was time to take him for a special “big boy” outing (his 2 month old sister, notwithstanding).

it was time …

for sea world!

jack has been seeing ads for sea world before his oft-watched on-demand episodes of fireman sam so he was fully prepared for seeing orcas, dolphins and penguins.

what he was not fully prepared for was seeing them at a venue as large as sea world. he has never been anywhere so big, and was slightly overwhelmed when we first arrived.

when the shell-shock started to wear off, jack had a great time. he proclaimed shamu the orca his favorite thing, but also enjoyed a sea lion and sea otter show (he still talks about how “that crazy sea otter stole the map” during the pirate-themed adventure), the polar bear whose name he will eagerly tell you is “johnny,” and the many species of penguins.

he even enjoyed some of the rides. we were leery at first … despite his otherwise daredevil nature, jack sometimes gets scared with rides but once he’d hopped on the first one and couldn’t get enough.

in the end … he did get enough. he fell asleep in the stroller we brought for annie (which she had abandoned in favor of being carried in a sling) as we rolled him to see the dolphins. he struggled through the fog of sleep to open his eyes and see them and, having touched that base, promptly laid back down to his nap.

it was time to go, but we look forward to returning to sea world again!