Vacation day 1: Brrrr....ing on Sea World

When we started planning our Texas vacation - I think it was during a very cold drive home from a ridiculously frigid hockey game when the idea started to gel - I couldn't wait to go somewhere warm. 

And then we got to Texas. Admittedly it was much warmer than Minnesota, and the sun was glorious. But it was still cold. Temps in the 40s in the morning that barely reached 60s at the height of the afternoon. 

On our first full day in San Antonio, I was still in denial of this fact. Surely the weather forecasters were wrong. It had to warm up! And so we headed for Sea World in shorts and sweatshirts. We bought our tickets from a woman wearing gloves and a stocking cap.

We headed into the park, doing our best to stay in the sun. Here's Jeff right before he got in trouble for touching a dolphin while its mouth was open. Apparently that's a no no.

We saw cute animals.

And not so cute animals.

The kids were pretty excited to see real palm trees on Palm Sunday.

And then we took in some shows. Ever since Jeff became obsessed with the Scurvy Pirate Mime at the Sea World in Orlando, we of course pay special attention to the pre-show performers. I did not envy this guy his job. Remember, it was chilly. And he got really wet.

When the show started, it became clear he was more than just the pre-show entertainment. He performed throughout. It was impressive! I'd wondered how they could build an entire show around Beluga whales. As it turns out, the Belugas were only a small portion of the show. Dolphins, synchronized swimmers, divers from the top rafters and trapeze artists a la Cirque de Soleil all performed.

And that guy just kept getting wet, and never stopped smiling. He had to have been freezing. I'm sure the water temperature is kept cool for the whales and dolphins. That might feel good on an 80-degree day, but it was nothing I'd want to dive into on that day.

After Azul, we headed for the Sea Lion show. More fun.

And after seeing a walrus attempt sit ups, I will never again complain about the difficulty I have with ab exercises. (Okay, I probably still will whine.)

The kids did a bunch of rides and wanted to do a bunch more.

 And then it was time for Shamu.

How do you not love Sea World? I tried to convince Sydney she should be a marine biologist. I assured her I'd visit often if she decided to live somewhere warm. She responded, "I've got lots of time to decide."

Throughout the day, if we were in the sun and shielded from the wind, it was actually warm enough for short sleeves. Sydney even managed to sun burn her nose and cheeks.

Alas, I had no such luck. That night we bought some sun screen, which pretty much sealed our fate for lousy weather the rest of the trip.

Day two brought us to the Children's Museum and the Alamo. More on that another day...