Found myself in Carlsbad (CA) tonight, Sea World San Diego all day!

[rexrzer]

My wife finally got 5-straight days off from Target, and we've hit the road, putting some miles on the new Honda Pilot and going for the beach, the zoo, the Orca's, and the wild animals here in San Diego County. We got this thing called a "3-for 1 Pass" at Sea World today, which gives us unlimited admission there, and at the San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego Wild Animal Park for 5 consecutive days starting today...so we've got our work cut out for us trapsing around the county from today through Jan 3, taking in all the sights and wonders of the beautiful animals and sea creatures that this town seems to have a lock on.

I hadn't seen the newest Shamu's in many years, and the show those Orca's put on was just sensational!(tu) They are such powerful, acrobatic performers that you really have to see it to believe it...I mean when you see a 6-ton Killer Whale jumping 25-feet into the air doing spin moves and tail flips just for kicks, you get a feeling that they are really, really intelligent beings that are so very special amongst God's living things. I got some incredible shots with the Pentax *ist DS and my Sigma-Pentax 75-300mm auto-focus telephoto, and I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun working with them once I get back home to my studio. But oh my gosh the power of those animals as they did their 'routines' for major handfuls of raw fish, clams, shrimp and assorted pats, scratches, kisses and hugs from their trainers and friends...I was speechless when the show was over, and it takes a lot to impress me like that.><

Now it's off to the world's biggest, best zoo tomorrow, and all the wonders that it will bring us. If any of you nice people ever find yourselves down here on vacation by all means go for the 3 for 1 Pass and really get into the spirit of things the San Diego way.

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[Silencio]

If they add Legoland and make it a 4-for-1 pass, I'm there!

[GeneL]

Mavis and I really enjoy the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

IMHO it's a more mellow place than the others. Much more relaxing but as I always say, "that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

Rexrzer, if you were heading north you could come by and have breakfast with us in Dana Point. Actually, our favorite breakfast place has become Wilma's Patio on Marine over the bridge at Balboa Island.

Have a fun time off and a Happy New Year!

GeneL

[rexrzer]

GeneL, thanks so much for the invite! If we hadn't planned all of our time down here out to the hour spent here and there we'd LOVE to take you up on the breakfast gig...don't you have relatives in Thousand Oaks? Sometimes it's a small world....anyway, thanks and we'll think about you when we're at the Wild Animal Park...that should be an adventure...it's planned for Monday.

Tuesday we're going back to Sea World for a redeux, and more photographic forays with a new lens I am just learning how to use. I plan on using the burst mode on the Orca's jumping then, and should come up with some very nice shots...plus there won't be so many people there on Jan 2nd......it was a real crush of folks today. It was all we could do to get in there, park, and see the 3 PM show! Traffic was freaking horrible.

I'll tell you all about the zoo and the park when we go there...thanks for being my captive audience tonight.

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[GeneL]

Some other time, perhaps?

Mavis and I got up this morning, ate some cereal and went back to sleep.

I just woke up and saw that it was 4 PM

Have fun and Happy New Year!

GeneL

btw,you are correct. My son, daughter-in-law and their two, soon to be three kidlets live in Thousand Oaks.