Swim with Dolphins at SeaWorld San Antonio

Kissing Brady

Guess what?  I recently fulfilled a lifelong dream.  I was able to swim with a dolphin, so fun!  I was invited to take part in a Dolphin Interaction at Discovery Point in SeaWorld San Antonio.  After changing into a wetsuit and while accompanied by a trainer, a small group of us waded into the shallows of Dolphin Lagoon (at Discovery Point) and met Brady, a 17 year old bottle nose dolphin who couldn't have been sweeter.  There were several other dolphins there but I spent all my time with Brady.

 

 Taking a ride with Brady!

We were able to give him kisses, rubdowns, and even go for a short swim.  It was so fun to be so close to such a beautiful animal and learn about him. 

Learning some of the commands and having fun with Brady

Oh, and we got a little wet!

SeaWorld San Antonio has several interaction experiences available including the Dolphin Encounter, Beluga Encounter and the Sea Lion Encounter.  Interested in booking an Interaction at SeaWorld San Antonio?  Check out the link below for Blue Friday savings and make sure to come back on Thursday for even more savings.  These hands-on-experiences make great gifts as well.  Make someone happy and give an experience this holiday season.

SeaWorld's Blue Friday Sale Sneak Peek

Fun at SeaWorld's Seafari Tour

Did you know that SeaWorld San Antonio has tours?  They do!  And they have several different ones available.  Last week I was able to take B on a special birthday surprise.  We drove down to SeaWorld San Antonio and participated in their Seafari Tour, a 3 hour before the park opens tour.  We had such a blast - it was so much fun!  We were able to see SeaWorld's animal conservation center, visit the penguin encounter and the puffin area, see and feed the sea lions, visit the beluga whales and pacific white sided dolphins, visit and pet the sting rays, pet a shark, see their baby sea lions and bottlenose dolphins.  We saw so many animals it truly was hard to keep track.

 Blue-tongued Skink

 Lemur

 Lemur

 Penguin Fun

 Puffins

 

 Pacific White Sided Dolphins

 

The Beluga Whales were having playtime when we visited.

 Feeding the Sea Lions

Baby Sea Lions (about 6 months old)

 

 Sting ray touch tank

 B touching the sting rays

 The shark waiting to be pet.

B was the only kid on the tour brave enough to touch the shark.  She was surprised at how rough the shark was compared to the sting rays.

 Bottlenose Dolphins

Special things to note concerning the Seafari Tour at SeaWorld:  it is a walking tour so you will be doing a lot of walking,  it is recommended for guests 8 and older (kids must be accompanied by a paying adult), this tour is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., you will check-in at the main security gate (not the main entrance because the park is not open yet), tour by reservation only, and prices start at $20.

AdventureCon15

I am back from AdventureCon15 (SeaWorld's blogging conference) and vacation as well!  AdventureCon15 was such a blast.  AdventureCon13 was the first blogging conference I ever attended.  David and the kids met me for a day when I went to AdventureCon14.  This was our first year to experience the conference as a whole family and we had a lot of fun.  When I was in blogging sessions, David and the kids were at the park having fun with other families.  Of course it didn't feel like "sessions", it felt like I was hanging out with friends and family that know a lot about blogging and social media!  I am excited and inspired to start implementing many of the things I learned!

And I have to end with some fun photos of course, enjoy!

David and the oldest five with Shamu

 B approves of her lunch!

 A and F having water fun.

 Aquatica has some great places to relax.

 D loved the sand.

E excited to see the new Sea Lion High show.

Disclosure:  I am a SeaWorld Texas Wildside blogger.  I received complimentary passes for myself and family and have the opportunity to receive other perks throughout the year.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

SeaWorld AdventureCon15

Guess what?  I am headed to AdventureCon again this year and I am so excited!  This will be my third year to attend (my first year as a Wildside Ambassador).  Three years ago I attended by myself and I was blown away by the information and content as well as the friendliness of the attendees, wildsiders, and the park itself.  And every year, it just gets better.  Last year, David and the kids came up for one day and met me at various times throughout the conference.  This year, we will be doing the entire conference as a family and I cannot wait.  The speakers look amazing and there is so much to learn.  So join me in my #AdventureCon15 adventures as I have fun and take my blog to the next level.

You can follow along our adventures on facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. by looking for the hashtag #AdventureCon15.

Oh, and we are really hoping to see the baby beluga whale that was born just last week.  Enjoy the video below.

SeaWorld, Sea Lions, Such Fun

A few of the Wildside Bloggers!  Thanks to Noel Bracy for this photo.

A few weeks ago my friend and I had the privilege of attending a special, after hours event at SeaWorld San Antonio, a perk for being a SeaWorld Wildside Blogger.  We were able to get a sneak peak of the all new Sea Lion show, Sea Lion High.  We had so much fun!  We enjoyed so much delicious food, desserts and beverages, had our caricatures made, met and fed the sea lions and of course enjoyed the new show!  The new construction of Pacific Point Preserve is beautiful.  I love that you can see and interact with the sea lions more - and so do they!  If you haven't seen the show it is really fun and I would highly recommend it.

 Heading into the event.

 Pacific Point Preserve

The stars of the area, the sea lions!

 Check out this fruit sculptor, such talent!

 Caricature time

Finished - looks pretty good!

 I actually went home and put mine in a frame :).

Food

More Food

Love that this photo captures the friendly staff.  Not only was the food absolutely delicious but the staff was all smiles.

The newly constructed Sea Lion show set.

President Dan Decker introducing the new show.

Science Class

Show Fun

The Principal

Sea Lion High is a super cute show.  Clyde and Seamore go back to high school in pursuit of their diplomas.  It seems that they have missed a few classes and may not graduate after all.  The animal behaviors are a treat to watch and the trainers do a great job keeping you engaged with fun audience interaction.  Will these two graduate?  Check out the show for yourself and let me know what you think!

Disclosure:  I am a SeaWorld Texas Wildside blogger.  I received complimentary passes for myself and family and have the opportunity to receive other perks throughout the year.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

Satisfy Your Palate at SeaWorld San Anotonio's Seven Seas Food Festival

Do you know what I got to do this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day?  On Saturday we went to SeaWorld San Antonio's Seven Seas Food Festival and it was a blast.

I met SeaWorld's Chef Scott personally and I can tell you that under his watch recipes get an extra special ingredient - passion.  He has a passion for cooking and he cares about his creations and authenticity!  This can be seen and tasted in the many choices available throughout the Seven Seas Food Festival.  The variety and creations available will tantalize your palate and keep you circling the festival for more.

 

This festival features area-inspired cuisine from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, North Pacific, Pacific and South Atlantic.  It was awesome to try such a variety of dishes from such various locations.

David and I went to the Caribbean first.  You can see C checking out the menu.

Here I am with my Food, Wine and Brew Sampler Card ready to go!

There are several different VIP Samplers available for purchase.  You can buy a Food Sampler which allows you to choose any 6 samples of food throughout the festival for $26.99.  You can buy a Wine and Brew Sampler which allows you to choose any 6 samples of beer or wine throughout the festival for $19.99.  Or you can buy the Food, Wine and Brew Sampler and choose from any 3 samples of food and any 3 samples of beer or wine throughout the festival for $24.99.

I chose to get the Jerk Chicken with Rice and Gungo Peas and a Red Stripes Lager.

Red Stripes Lager

David enjoyed the Red Stripes Lager.

Our whole family enjoyed the Jerk Chicken, the flavor was just right.  Even F was asking for more.

Next, we followed the event map and headed to the South Atlantic area.

The South Atlantic area was very festively decorated with bright colors and had an area for live music.

I really loved the trees.

There were some amazing fruit and vegetable sculptors.

We loved seeing all the creations.

 A close up view

David chose the feijoada (Pork stewed with black beans in a sausage, beef and chorizo blend served with a side of collard greens).

At this point, we could tell that each area really had its own flare.  And F was sold as a food sampler, he loved the beans and sausage.  He even ate some collard greens.

 Meeting SeaWorld's Chef Scott and Chef Virginia Willis

I was so excited that I was able to attend the Cooking with Coke demonstration in the North Pacific area with Chef Virginia Willis.  It really was a treat.  Chef Virginia Willis was extremely warm and friendly, not to mention talented.  She walked us through how to make Honest Green Tea Marinated Grilled Shrimp and Simply Orange Rice Pilaf using products from the Coca-Cola family and then we were able to sample her delicious creations at the end.

The set up was amazing and made it very easy to follow along with Chef Virginia Willis.

Ingredients ready to go for the demo.

 Chef Virginia Willis in the middle of her demonstration.

 My sample - delicious!

After the demo, we headed to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico menu

David sampled the street tacos and I ordered the tostones with garlic oil.  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the street tacos before they were consumed but they were delicious as were the tostones.

 Tostones with Garlic Oil

We rounded out our tour at the Mediterranean area.

Mediterranean Menu

David sampled the Seared Quail with Kouros Nemea.

 Seared Quail

I sampled the Shawarma with Kouros Patras.

Shawarma with Skhug Sauce

 I cannot think of a better way to end the day!

I have to say that this festival was both fun and delicious.  If you are headed to SeaWorld San Antonio in the month of May you will definitely want to check it out or maybe the festival itself will take you to the park.  This culinary voyage takes place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 8th-31st (plus Monday, May 25).  The festival opens at 11:00 a.m. and closes with the park on all event days.

Disclosure:  I am a SeaWorld Texas Wildside blogger.  I received complimentary passes for myself and family and have the opportunity to receive other perks throughout the year.  All opinions expressed here are my own.