Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Racecation Day 2: Sea World and My Birthday!

Sunday, August 25, 2013 – Astros game; Houston, TX & Vlog
Monday, August 26, 2013 – San Diego and Old Town & Vlog

>>Tuesday, August 27, 2013 – Sea World and My Birthday<<
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 – San Diego Zoo
Thursday, August 29, 2013 – Travelling to Disneyland/Downtown Disney
Friday, August 30, 2013 – DCA and the Disneyland Half Expo & Vlog
Saturday, August 31, 2013 – Disneyland 10K and Park time & Vlog
Sunday, September 1, 2013 – Disneyland Half Marathon and more park time & Vlog

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Dumbo Double Dare Training

Tuesday morning, I woke up earlier than planned (ie, 5 a.m.). The time change really messed with me and it took several days before my body became accustomed to West Coast time. Since I was awake, I decided to go for a nice, easy run around the resort. The weather was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my training for Dumbo’s Double Dare. This 2 mile run around the resort was my final run before race weekend.

Starbucks Birthday Breakfast

For breakfast, we stopped by Starbucks on our way to Sea World. My coffee was free, as a birthday treat! Yay!

Siri cracks me up (and frustrates me at the same time). After leaving Starbucks, we plugged in the address for Sea World. Siri took us right by Sea World, then made us drive in a circle around a random State Park (Fiesta Island). It was as if she wanted us to take our own little scenic tour of the place!

Paradise Point Resort

Only one way into Fiesta Island and one way out. Made no sense but definitely made us laugh! The island was beautiful and full of runners/bikers. Looked like a lovely place for a long run!

fiesta Island 2

After a little maneuvering and following road signs (Siri was turned off at this point), we found our way!

Sea World San Diego 1Sea World San Diego

We walked through a few animal exhibits on our way to our first ride, Journey to Atlantis.

Journey To Atlantis

We were pretty wet after stepping off the ride, although I did use a poncho to cover my legs/feet so I wouldn’t have squishy shoes all day.

I might have shut down this ride by accident. It’s all on the vlog which will be posted tomorrow. :0)

Journey to Atlantis Dryers

Did you know that after getting off the ride, you can pay $5 to have a machine air dry you? No, we didn’t use them. :0)

I hate to compare theme parks to Disney because we all know there’s no comparison…however, we noticed something on several rides that was different from what we are used to. When it came time for the next person in a ride queue to actually line up for a ride, everyone was told to “choose any line”. In theory, it’s a good concept because the park goers are able to choose which part of the ride they would like to sit in…front back, middle, etc. However, when opening the door to a room similar to Mission Space in Epcot, telling 20 people to randomly choose a number on the floor and stand on it can be quite confusing. After finding our spot, I turned and told Jason, “Toto, we aren’t in Disney anymore!” I’m definitely not complaining, I just noticed the difference.

Sea World San Diego Beluga Whale

In the Wild Arctic, we saw beluga whales and polar bears…oh my!

Sea World San Diego Polar Bear
Sea World San Diego Penguins

Why hello there, Mr. Penguin!

Sea World San Diego 3

We watched several shows while at Sea World and really enjoyed them all. I loved the picturesque backdrop for Sea Lions LIVE – San Diego is absolutely breathtaking.

Sea World san Digeo 4

Seamore was quite the character!

When I think back to my memories of Sea World as a child, the #1 thing I remember was the Shamu exhibit and show.

Sea World Shamu

Out of the three shows we saw that day, Shamu Rocks was by far the best!

Sea World Shamu 2

For lunch, I had a delicious fruit salad.

Sea World Lunch

So delicious, this guy wanted a bite! :0)

Sea World Sea Gull

One thing I wished we knew about ahead of time was the “All Day Dining Deal”. Pretty much an all inclusive “dining plan” type package for the entire day you are at the park. Had we known earlier, we would have purchased the package and eaten breakfast there as well.

Sea World San Diego Turtles

Sea Turtles

Sea World Flamingos

Flamingos

Sea World San Diego 5

Mission Bay

Sea World Crawfish'

These guys live in my front yard…and at Sea World, apparently. I had to laugh when I saw them in an exhibit all the way in California.

We eat these guys…and we call them Crawfish.

Sea World Crawfish
Sea World San Diego Blue Horizons

Our final show of the day was Blue Horizons – it included dolphins which are a favorite of mine!

Sea world San Diego Penguins 2

Who let these penguins out of their exhibit?!

Sea World Bayside Skyride

We enjoyed a mid-day picturesque ride across Mission Bay.

Sea World Bayside Skyride 3

You can’t tell, but I was rather scared out of my mind. I’m not a fan of bridges or other things that could break and drop me into the water. Riding in a car across a cable was no laughing matter, although I definitely enjoyed the scenery!

Sea World Bayside Skyride (2)
Sea World San Diego Reef Stonefish

Stonefish

Sea World San Diego Clown Fish

Clownfish (I found Nemo!)

Sea World San Diego STarfish

Starfish

Sea World San Diego Funnel Cake

Before leaving the park, we decided to have an afternoon dessert. Sea World serves fried funnel cakes with ice cream,whipped cream, and fruit topping. Holy sugar rush, batman. We ate every. last. bite.

Sea World San Diego Funnel Cake (2)

Someone thought he was eating beignets! Whoops!

After leaving the park, we drove back to our resort to get ready for dinner. Jason had a birthday surprise up his sleeve and wouldn’t tell me his plans.

San Diego Sunset
San Diego Sunset 2

Before leaving, we watched the sunset from the beach at our resort.

IMG_7495

I bought this dress from Banana Republic, especially for our trip! Love it! :0)

Jason’s surprise was dinner at a local restaurant called “The Fishery”. He read awesome reviews about it online and wanted to take me somewhere “authentic” and local to San Diego. Funny story, Jason hates fish. :0) 

San Diego The Fishery
San Diego The Fishery 1

For starters, we shared an appetizer of a Spicy Tuna Roll. Mr. “I hate fish” really enjoyed the tuna roll! Progress!!

San Diego The Fishery 2San Diego The Fishery 4

I ordered the Grilled Yellowtail

San Diego The Fishery 3

Jason had shrimp as his entrée. He did taste my yellowtail and said he liked it! I have no clue what came over him!

San Diego The Fishery 5

To end the evening, we were surprised with dessert, on the house. These strawberries were soaked in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, then served with 2 scoops of house made vanilla ice cream. The perfect blend of tart and sweet. I’ve never had a dessert quite like this one, it was delicious!

San Diego The Fishery 6

In all, I had a fabulous birthday and really enjoyed every moment…from Sea World to watching the sunset on the beach and dinner at The Fishery.

Stay tuned…coming up tomorrow, a vlog of our Sea World and birthday adventures! It’s a fun one! :0)

When travelling out of town, do you visit local restaurants or do you stick with the restaurants you are familiar with?

22 comments:

  1. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants so I love to try local places when we are on vacation. Your Sea World Day looked so fun, especially the shows with the animals!

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    1. Yes, we do the same! We found a lot of really great local restaurants in San Diego because of websites such as Yelp and UrbanSpoon! Thanks, we really enjoyed Sea World! :0)

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  2. What a fantastic birthday!! You had me drooling over the funnel cake. Yum!

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    Replies
    1. Oh goodness that funnel cake was delicious!! :0) Thanks, Karen!

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  3. What an awesome day!!! I like to visit local restaurants when I'm on vacation. Too funny about the crawfish! He looked pretty tasty in your picture! Ok...not really lol!

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    Replies
    1. Haha you aren't a crawfish fan? It cracked me up when I saw the display!

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  4. I love animals and haven't been to sea world since I was a child (orlando) must take Bobby!

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    Replies
    1. I'm the same way...I would love to go back to Orlando's Sea World one day, too.

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  5. What an awesome birthday!!!!
    Looks wonderful.

    It is funny that you said you compared it all to WDW, I do the same thing whenever we go to a park along that lines as well.

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  6. Now I really want to go to San Diego! Looks like you had a fabulous birthday!! :-)

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  7. Awesome birthday, I bet that crawfish was glad he was in Sea World and not on your plate ;)
    The red dress looks great on you.

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    Replies
    1. That is so true! Haha! Poor crawfish! Thank you so much! :0)

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  8. Sea turtles are my favorite DUDE!!! Looks like you had a blast. :)

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  9. I so want to go to SeaWorld someday! I'm so glad you went and I can live vicariously in the meantime!

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  10. Oh my goodness funnel cake, how delicious! Also, I have not been to sea world for years. I want to go so bad now! Hitting up local aquariums just isn't doing it for me- now ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I hear you! In a way, I felt as if I was at a theme-park aquarium and it was amazing! :0)

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  11. Sounds like a great birthday! That strawberry dessert sounds amazing and I'm not even a strawberry fan.

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