In case you were curious… October 23, 2009 was the perfect day to be at Sea World.
Sea World today was a blast. We were in right after the gates opened and out before rush hour traffic hit. We saw all that needed to be seen and rode all the rides that needed to be ridden. With great weather, short lines, and a good friend to share it all with, what more could you ask for?
I know! More random Fridays off in the future to do it all over again. ๐
This morning Erin made it very clear she is unable to start her day with out her daily coffee fix. Starbucks to the rescue!
Erin got her coffee and I ordered a Grande Awake Tea with a single pump of Pumpkin Spice. Mmmm…
It had been at least 8 or 9 years since my last visit to Sea World and since then the park has welcomed a couple of new additions. Most notably the new roller coaster Manta that opened this past spring.
Manta is a coaster you ride horizontally on your stomach. It is freaking awesome! We lucked out and were able to ride the coaster twice. Once in the morning with a decent wait and then in the afternoon with no wait. It was worth going to Sea World just to be able to ride this roller coaster. Two thumbs up!
I’ll admit riding Manta was the highlight of my day, but interacting with the sea life was a BIG plus too.
Erin and I were able to pet the Sting Rays
Get up and personal with some Dolphins
And made a couple of new friends.
At one point a snack was needed.
Erin has a mild obsession with Penguins.
A big chunk of our day was taking as many photos as possible of our flight challenged new friends.
We even saw a couple getting friendly with each other. ๐
Not awkward at all. lol
Can you believe we encountered the largest crowd at the Shark Encounter Exhibit?
It’s not even a ride, but I guess the small underwater tunnel they were shoveling the crowd through made it move kind of slow. Not worth it in my opinion.
As predicted lunch choices were limited and $$. We settled on splitting an $8 Oven Roasted Turkey Sandwich that came with a small side of Potato Salad.
I devoured my small portion way too quickly. It was NOT filling at all.
To try and compensate for the sandwich I ate the majority of the potato salad. I ate it not because it was good, only because it was there. I would loved to have purchased some fruit to go on the side but I couldn’t bring myself to pay $3.99 for a small cup of strawberries. Oh well.
After lunch we had fun doing a little bit more exploring.
Then came our grand finale – Shamu!
We left tired, hungry, and happy as clams. It was a good day.
On the way home I heard a rumor the Whole Foods was carrying the exclusive Stonyfield Pumpkin Pie Yogurt and I couldn’t pass up a chance to check it out for myself.
Boy do I love rumors!!
I didn’t even make it out of the store before trying this baby out for myself with a little Pumpkin Spice Granola from the bulk bins. (I got a little scoop that came to 32 cents!)
Wow! I really needed this. The pumpkin pie flavor wasn’t as strong as I was hoping, but the yogurt was still creamy and delectable. I was very happy to purchase a couple more to enjoy over the coming week. ๐
I was still a little hungry when I got home, but quickly fixed that problem with 1/2 a Kiwi with a slather of Naturally Nutty Vanilla Almond Butter on top.
Erin requested something mainstream for dinner and I knew just the place.
The Elephant Bar is a cute upscale chain restaurant that puts an Asian spin on classic bar food. Its decently priced and I know they have good food.
I went with simple and ordered the Soup and Salad Combo.
The soup was a Thai Chicken Coconut Curry that sounded great, but was a little bland for my taste.
The salad was a simple Mixed Greens Salad with Candied Walnuts, Blue Cheese, Carrots and a Balsamic Vinaigrette on the side.
My food ended up taking a little longer then my two other dining partners. While I waited I encouraged them to eat their food and joined them by stealing a piece of chicken, a couple of sweet potato fries and this grilled tomato coved in parmesan cheese.
*mental note – grill tomatoes at home.
When dinner came to an end so did my time with Erin. We said our good byes and promised it wouldn’t be another full year before we saw each other again. *tear I miss her already.
It has been a long day and dessert was needed. I was craving a brownie and dug in the freezer to find a left over goodie Amanda had sent me a while back.
The perfect treat to end my day with.
Tomorrow I will be walking in The Making Strides 5k and its going to be another early one.
Thank you again to all my supporters who donated in helping me reach my goal for the breast cancer awareness walk. Thanks to your help I was able to raise $270 and am happy to report my team raised close to $1500!! That’s a lot of money going to a great cause!
I’m beat. Time for bed, but I do have one last thing..
Please keep the votes coming for the Sam-e Good Mood Gig!
Good Night!
Your day looks like such a blast, Meghann! I love both of your dresses, they are super cute. I have searched far and wide for the pumpkin yogurt. No luck.
Looks like a fun Friday! I have to tell you, I love how honest you always are in your restaurant/food reviews- it’s refreshing!
Looks like you had a really great day! ๐ I’d love to go to seaworld one day..
Dinner looks good! I’m so gonna try grilling tomato now.
And you’ve made me keen for granola and yoghurt ๐ Looks like I’ve got a plan for what I’m gonna be making tonight!
Nothing like spending a great day with a great friend! Glad you girls had such a wonderful day (sea world food options aside)!
That whole day looks amazing, glad you had fun!
http://eatventures.wordpress.com
I haven’t been to Sea World since I was 7. It looked like a ton of fun. Plus on this jeans and sweater wearing kind of day in Boston, I am jealous of your cute sun dresses!
wow! what a great day at seaworld with erin ๐ that roller coaster looks so fun. i really wanna try that pumpkin yogurt, we have stonyfield at my school caf but NOT pumpkin ๐ you had a busy day today, hope you do well at your race tomorrow!
jenna
Glad you had such a great day at Sea World. When I was at the Central Park Zoo earlier this year my friend and I saw two huge turtles mating. They were humping and moaning (LOUDLY) for a solid 30 minutes. Needless to say we felt kinda awkward too. Oh, and then when we got to the polar bears, they were in heat as well. hmmm….
I love the Elephant Bar!! I’ve only been once, but they had the BIGGEST menu ever! I couldn’t choose. But the desserts were out of this world – especially the mud pie.
I checked at Whole Foods last week for the pumpkin pie yogurt and didnt see it! Maybe they just started selling it. I’ll check next time I’m home!
what a wonderful day! i want to go to sea world soooo bad! so jeals that you got to see dolphins! it’s my dream to swim with them!
http://saladdiva.wordpress.com
Wow. I’m a little turned on by those penguins.
Ha! Mama Pea’s comment cracked me up! Love it. ๐
I really want to test out the Manta, it got built after the last time i went… has it been that long?!? Im so with you on the fair food at sea world. My mother always brought her big purse and i never knew why. Than i discovered the multitude of chips and pre-made sangwiches… what a woman.
Glad you had fun with erin as well. She sounds like an awesome and true friend (I think i heard the theme from the Golden Girls as i read)
I’m glad you had a good day, that looks like fun! ๐ Sorry the lunch sucked, but it’s pretty normal at those kinds of places.
In Australia, where I am living, we have grilled tomoatoes all the time for breakfast. they are so yummy.
Sun dresses in Autumn and Pumpkin Pie flavored foods – sounds pretty perfect to me!
Looks like you guys had fun!!! I have never been to Sea World, I should go next time I am in FL!
I NEED to try that Pumpkin Pie yogurt for sure!!! Have a great rest of your weekend!!!
Oh and I love you dress, so cute and fits you really well ๐
Manta is seriously the best rollercoaster in Florida, I think. From the second they flip you over onto your “stomach”, you’re already terrified, haha. Glad you had a great time! (I agree – Sea World seriously needs to work on their food options.)
Wow Seaworld sounds like a blast!
Your pics are so interesting and fun! . . . have a nice walk today.
I’m officially completely jealous! You definitely made me want to go down to florida to experience manta myself!
p.s.- I finally got a blog ๐ it sucks right now but I’ll make a better later ๐
Wow sounds like a busy day! But that ride sounds terrifying.
I think it’s been almost 25 years since I went to Sea World!! Looks like you had a blast. ๐
I’m so jealous of your weather. I need to go somewhere warm asap! ๐
I’m such a baby, I can’t handle roller coasters. Glad you had fun. Looks like a fabulous day… especially on a Friday!
Oh I forgot to mention, if you have a minute, check out my V8 soup giveaway. There are lots of other fun goodies included like veggie shaped pens ๐
Looks like a fun day – I loooooove your dress!
Your day looks perfect. I’ve actually never been to Sea world. I’ll need to make a special trip next time I’m around Orlando
Looks like so much fun! SeaWorld is a great place for kids and adults. ๐ That ride looks awesome, too.
Love your dress — I’ve noticed you wear it before and want it! Where is it from?
SeaWorld looks like fun! We lived in Orlando for three years (two of them literally across the street from SeaWorld) AND I am a teacher so admission would be free. Did we ever go to SeaWorld? Nope! We really should sometime…
Love all the Sea World pics! I just posted a Thai Coconut Chicken soup recipe on my blog – I simmer the chicken with sliced jalapenos – the spice would be right up your alley! ๐
Fun day!! I am so jealous of your ability to wear a cute sundress…. I’m in jeans, a fleece and I’m still freezing….. blah.
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