Sea World, Day 2 Cont.: Sea Lions and Sharks and Dolphins (Oh My!)

After we checked out of the Nickelodeon Resort on Day #2 of our Orlando mini-vacation, we headed back to Sea World for a few more hours of fishy fun.

First, we picked up a little souvenir for Ellie: a bracelet with her name on it. They actually had "Ellie," not just "Elizabeth!" So obviously we had to buy it.

Modeling her super-stylish new Shamu ankle bracelet. Also, yes, she's totally rocking jellies.

Then, we circled the park in search of photo ops we may have missed the day before.

Shrub Shamu

Left: I liked these jellyfish topiaries in the kids' area! Right: She hates scenic views.

Shamu leaving his mark in the bushes

As I'm sure everyone knows, hotel check-out time is 11:00, which is not too far off from Ellie's nap time. So, by the time we arrived at the park, it didn't take much walking around before Ellie settled in for her midday nap.

Snoozing

We continued on our way and went through the shark exhibit, which was very cool. I love the aquariums you can walk through, so you can see the fish/sharks swimming all around and above you.

Ellie is very excited about the shark exhibit.

Barracuda!

Shark!

Sawfish

Giant fish

In the aquarium...again, Ellie is riveted.

After the sharks, we walked up to see the seals and sea lions. We even saw a mama and baby! Ellie (who woke up thanks to a loud tour group) was particularly excited about all the birds hanging out hoping for a fish.

Seals and sea lions

Birds!

Hoping for a snack

The mama and baby are way back in the corner - can you see them?

By that time, we were pretty hungry so we made a stop for lunch. Ellie was as cute as ever.

Just munching on some carrots, having a blast

Next up: the dolphin and bird show, which was my favorite of all the ones we saw. The "bird" portion was mostly people dressed as birds performing a variety of dives and other acrobatic feats, with a few real birds used to accent the whole thing. And of course, who doesn't love dolphins? I thought the whole thing was beautiful and very cool. Ellie also was entranced.

Dolphin tricks!

Bird acrobats and divers

Going for a ride

Nice form, dolphins.

After the dolphin show we went to see the Jewels of the Sea Aquarium.

Jellyfish

Three crazy eels, all stuck in one pot

Ellie checking out the fish

 Then, it was over to Dolphin Cove to check out everybody's favorite sea mammals once again.

Hanging out for some sort of dolphin encounter

Hey guys, what's up?

Also, I can't let all these recaps pass by without mentioning how very "Dad-like" Eric was looking on this trip: loaded up with a backpack to carry all the family essentials, camera slung over his arm (or sometimes even around his neck), park map at the ready. Nailed it.

Dad Eric leading the way

After our second round of dolphins, we had one tuckered out baby on our hands. So, it was time to bid farewell to Sea World.

She Shamu-ed till she dropped.

Ellie may have been tired, but you're never too tired for a Shamu toy to keep you occupied on the drive home.

Hi there, friend.

And that's it! Our two-day mini-vacation to Sea World Orlando was a smashing success. We had a great time and everything went as well as we could have hoped. We have a big trip coming up next week (more details on that in my next post!), and this was an excellent trial run for that - you know, the whole "traveling with a toddler" thing. But the best part was just having two fun-filled days away with my fabulous family.

Happy family at Sea World

I just really kind of like those two crazy kids, you know?