By: Kevin
One major attraction around the San Diego area is SeaWorld. Now, SeaWorld has been the subject of some negative press over the years because they “extort wild animals for profit” and other similar arguments. However, living on the coast, it has become evident that this is not entirely the case. SeaWorld has a huge division of their operations that is devoted to helping wild animals and performing animal rescues and rehab, mainly not for profit. Their trucks can be spotted on the beaches when a random whale or sea turtle washes up too far to get back in the water by itself. These animals are either helped back to the ocean, or transferred to SeaWorld for medical treatment, rehab, and if at all possible, release back to the wild.
Beach rescues aside, thanks to the generosity of SeaWorld all active duty military and their families can come to SeaWorld once a year for free. We took advantage of this program and spent a full day wandering their park along Mission Bay. We got to pet Stingrays, see penguins up close, and even ride a roller-coaster which Pie requested more than once. We attended the Sea Lion show and avoided getting splashed at the Killer whale show. To make the day even better, Heather’s mom was in town for the week, so the kids got to spend time with Grandma too. The kids enjoyed the large play zone complete with hanging nets and obstacles. Last, but not least, what is a day at SeaWorld with Grandma without visiting the gift shop before leaving the park.
We did add a certain military feel to the day by opting not to indulge in the amusement park-priced food while in the park, but opted instead to bring….M.R.E.s with us for lunch. For those of you not familiar with M.R.E.s or ‘Meals Ready to Eat’, these are prepackaged meals that are designed for the military while on deployment or other field exercises. They are completely self-contained and can be consumed with zero prep other than a little water to activate the heating element if you prefer your entree heated. Heather’s mom wasn’t too sure of this idea and reserved the right to purchase food at the park if her chosen M.R.E. was not to her liking, but she was pleasantly surprised with her meal. This of course, was a single elective meal in comparison to eating EVERY meal via M.R.E.s over the course of a multi-week exercise that some military units must consume M.R.E.s, which may alter one’s view of MREs and their appeal.
This was not the first time we have been to SeaWorld. During my time as a travel nurse I was contracted to work in Florida, and we visited SeaWorld Orlando while we were in the area. The two parks are very similar, but each has their own unique attributes.
The Ready Rovers 