We decided to spend our Valentine's Day at Sea Life Park. Of course, Michael didn't realize the reason I made the suggestion was because my gift to him was a swim with the stingrays. :) I'm so sneaky!
Since I had booked an early morning encounter we were actually allowed into the park before they opened. We were able to walk around the park and see the animals being warmed up for their afternoon shows.
Here is Leonora the seal practicing her dive and flip routine. I got the whole thing on camera!
This is a giant 3 story circular aquarium with a spiral viewing area from top to bottom. Inside the tank are a bunch of colorful fish (blah) and STINGRAYS which, of course, Michael loved.
After the aquarium was the sea turtle enclosure. The park sells turtle food to visitors and since we were the first ones in the park, they were very eager to greet us!
Next we came upon the laziest seals in the world. The first one reminded us a lot of Stinky (our dog). All he did was lay there; though every once in a while he would take a swipe at the other seal who wanted to share his beach.
Here's a random bird. I just really like the way the picture turned out.
When we went to lunch and Michael was picking up the food, this cute little guy decided to keep me company. Although I think he was hoping for scraps.
My favorite and most dissapointing part of the day was watching the dolphins play. I love how dolphins turn everything into a game and are all about having fun. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I'm pregnant or whatever, they wouldn't let me swim with them. Very upsetting.
The last stop before the stingray encounter was the tropical penguin pool (when Michael and I win the lottery we are going to own some of these penguins).
Hey guys, it's Michael here now. I'll be narrating this part. First off, thank you AJ, this was an AWESOME suprise! For those of you who are not aware, I'm kind of a stingray fanatic. Especially once they stabbed that crocodile guy. Man I hated him!
Me being introduced to the stingrays
Waiting for the stingrays to come back and play
The handler showing me the stingray's "smile"
You can't see it, but at the bottom of this pool are 6 HUUUUUGE stingrays. We're talking 5' from wingtip to wingtip! Since nobody else had booked the early morning encounter, the handler gave me time to just snorkle with the rays. It was cool but I kept thinking about that annoying crocodile guy getting stabbed in the heart. Apparently the stingrays didn't think I was nearly as annoying as him because they mostly ignored me, thus ensuring my survival. All in all, it was an awesome Valentine's Day.
