Sea World

We headed out to Sea World-Orlando. The boys love animals. All kinds. And since we had a free 14 day pass to go to Sea World with our Discovery Cove ticket purchases, we thought we'd take advantage.
I loved the Renaissance theme of the park itself. We saw manatees that were part of the SW rescue program, dolphins (both older and newborn), sharks, tropical fish, eels, the boys got to feed sea lions and some rays. Caden enjoyed seeing the animals as did Ethan. However, Ethan has been expressing his displeasure with how small and confined the spaces are for the orcas used for performances. He refused to have his picture taken next to the tank nor did he want to see the Shamu show(s). He said it didn't seem right to have those animals in such small spaces. After hearing his viewpoints, Brian and I both started to view things differently. Strange how a kid can say the most simplistic things to turn your viewpoints around.
The good points? Sesame Street had a live Elmo and Abby performance we took in for Caden. It was so much fun to watch his little face light up when the Sesame Street characters all came out singing. We also let the boys ride a few rides which Caden LOVED. He is apparently going to be our adventure-seeker/roller-coaster enthusiast.
Don't get me wrong, I know that Sea World has some great things going for it. But, Ethan is not overly enthused with its containment of the larger sea mammals. I love him for that big marshmallow heart of his. Brian and I joke about how PETA will now become EETA, as in, Ethan for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.