Anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOVE penguins. I collect penguin stuff. I don't know why, I just think they are adorable. I knew that one day I would have to take an Antarctic cruise so I could see penguins that weren't behind glass. Then, I found out that Sea World in San Antonio offered a penguin interaction program. Lucky for me, I live 3 hours away from San Antonio. My friend, Maria, expressed how she had "hug a penguin" on her bucket list. I mentioned the Sea World program and we immediately booked our reservation.
Friday, June 29, we drove to San Antonio. Our little penguin adventure was not until the next morning so we had some time to spare. It didn't take long to figure out what we would do, being the opening night of Magic Mike and all. Was the plot left open ended? Yes. Did the script leave something to be desired? Yes. Were we going for the plot or script...ha ha...NO! With all that was lacking, I would still say we got our money's worth. And we had quite the excursion getting to the theatre. The GPS took us in the wrong direction. We even stopped and Maria asked a policeman if we were close. He laughed and said not at all. As we followed the directions he gave us, we passed a sign that said, "Entering San Antonio city limits". Yes, we had actually driven out of the city. It took us about 20 minutes to get back to where we needed to be.
On Saturday, June 30, we went straight to Sea World for our 10a.m. check-in. We were greeted by the program employees at 11. Maria told them we were there to steal a penguin. The awkward laugh they responded with was quite humorous. We went through about a 30 minute educational lecture back in the kitchen and then were escorted to a changing area where we put on overalls, boots, and coats. Then it was time for the main event. We stepped into the penguin enclosure and, as cold as it was, my heart still melted. There were penguins everywhere. This little chinstrap penguin started biting at my boot. They had two baby penguins that were the cutest little fluffballs! They had to keep the babies separated to keep the falling snow out of their down. The parents still congregate around the enclosure, though, and I took a video of the parents and babies talking to each other. They have a photographer on hand to capture your time in the enclosure. I sat down on a rock and they put a penguin in my lap! I actually got to hold a penguin. The best way to describe the way the feathers felt would be like hair with a lot of gel in it...kind of stiff and separated. I couldn't have been happier. Maria and I also got a picture of both of us with a penguin. When I looked at the photo later, I couldn't help but laugh. There is a penguin in the background with his wings up and all I could think was the penguin was yelling, "Photobomb!" I did not want to leave but they made us.
We spent the rest of our day at Aquatica, the new waterpark inside Sea World. I have never been on a waterslide before so I was thinking I was just going to hang out in the lazy river all day. Maria, on the other hand, had different plans for me. She immediately got me up on the worst slide in the park. As we were getting into the raft she tells the attendant to make sure I went backwards because "that's the best way to go". Then another attendant asked if he could ride down with us. Starting off it wasn't so bad. I was thinking, "Oh, this is actually slower than I thought it would be." Then the slide dropped into a double spiral and the attendant was messing with the raft to make it go faster. Then, as we came out of the spiral, the slide drops at a good 45 degree angle and then shoots you up an anti-gravity wall. I remember screaming "Oh my God!" Then as we got off the raft (with my wobbly knees) I had to ask Maria if I was the one who screamed. She assured me it was. I totally loved it.
I bought a season pass because it just made more economical sense to do so. I wasn't sure if I would actually use it. I know now, though, that I will definitely be making a trip back soon.
Friday, June 29, we drove to San Antonio. Our little penguin adventure was not until the next morning so we had some time to spare. It didn't take long to figure out what we would do, being the opening night of Magic Mike and all. Was the plot left open ended? Yes. Did the script leave something to be desired? Yes. Were we going for the plot or script...ha ha...NO! With all that was lacking, I would still say we got our money's worth. And we had quite the excursion getting to the theatre. The GPS took us in the wrong direction. We even stopped and Maria asked a policeman if we were close. He laughed and said not at all. As we followed the directions he gave us, we passed a sign that said, "Entering San Antonio city limits". Yes, we had actually driven out of the city. It took us about 20 minutes to get back to where we needed to be.
On Saturday, June 30, we went straight to Sea World for our 10a.m. check-in. We were greeted by the program employees at 11. Maria told them we were there to steal a penguin. The awkward laugh they responded with was quite humorous. We went through about a 30 minute educational lecture back in the kitchen and then were escorted to a changing area where we put on overalls, boots, and coats. Then it was time for the main event. We stepped into the penguin enclosure and, as cold as it was, my heart still melted. There were penguins everywhere. This little chinstrap penguin started biting at my boot. They had two baby penguins that were the cutest little fluffballs! They had to keep the babies separated to keep the falling snow out of their down. The parents still congregate around the enclosure, though, and I took a video of the parents and babies talking to each other. They have a photographer on hand to capture your time in the enclosure. I sat down on a rock and they put a penguin in my lap! I actually got to hold a penguin. The best way to describe the way the feathers felt would be like hair with a lot of gel in it...kind of stiff and separated. I couldn't have been happier. Maria and I also got a picture of both of us with a penguin. When I looked at the photo later, I couldn't help but laugh. There is a penguin in the background with his wings up and all I could think was the penguin was yelling, "Photobomb!" I did not want to leave but they made us.
We spent the rest of our day at Aquatica, the new waterpark inside Sea World. I have never been on a waterslide before so I was thinking I was just going to hang out in the lazy river all day. Maria, on the other hand, had different plans for me. She immediately got me up on the worst slide in the park. As we were getting into the raft she tells the attendant to make sure I went backwards because "that's the best way to go". Then another attendant asked if he could ride down with us. Starting off it wasn't so bad. I was thinking, "Oh, this is actually slower than I thought it would be." Then the slide dropped into a double spiral and the attendant was messing with the raft to make it go faster. Then, as we came out of the spiral, the slide drops at a good 45 degree angle and then shoots you up an anti-gravity wall. I remember screaming "Oh my God!" Then as we got off the raft (with my wobbly knees) I had to ask Maria if I was the one who screamed. She assured me it was. I totally loved it.
I bought a season pass because it just made more economical sense to do so. I wasn't sure if I would actually use it. I know now, though, that I will definitely be making a trip back soon.
I didn't know about this, was assuming I'd need to go to Antarctica, too!
ReplyDeleteI know. I was so excited to learn about this. If you ever get a chance, you should do it.
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