S is for Sea World
(This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge.
My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is S.)
San Diego has many great things that start with the letter ‘S’. Sunset Cliffs – steep cliffs on Point Loma with beautiful homes above, and premier surfing breaks below. Seaport Village – a fun, eclectic shopping area wrapped around San Diego Bay, with ponds and ducks, live music, food, an old-fashioned carousel, gorgeous views, and ice cream. Even my childhood neighborhood starts with ‘S’ – Serra Mesa – a ’50’s-and-’60’s-built community full of not-too-big tract homes, with lots of canyons to explore.
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I wondered if I should shy away from talking about Sea World because of the recent controversy with the movie Blackfish calling into question the treatment of killer whales in sea parks.
But Sea World really is a Quintessential San Diego experience, and part of my family’s history as well, so hey, I’ll just dive right in there and stir up the debate. You can read Sea World’s rebuttal of the Blackfish accusations here.
Sea World opened in San Diego in 1964.
Funny story: Early in its history, one of the attractions was a Japanese pearl diving pond. Young women dressed in traditional white cotton fisherwoman’s garb would dive down into the pond and pull up an oyster for you. Then you would take your oyster over to a counter and someone would open it up and you would find your pearl. If you were lucky, it would be a nice pearl.
The women-divers came from Japan! They wouldn’t talk to us because they couldn’t speak English!
Then, when I got to high school, some of my friends took summer jobs at Sea World. And two of my Filipina friends were hired as Japanese pearl divers. And one of the requirements was that they weren’t allowed to talk to the park visitors.
Hey! You mean, the divers weren’t really Japanese peasant women, after all?
I’d been duped.
Sea World is the first employer of many, many San Diego kids. My sister worked in the gift shop one summer after high school, and both my daughters worked there for a while. One manned arcade games, the other peddled soft drinks in the bleachers of the shows.
Some San Diego families take advantage of “Pay Once, Visit All Year” passes available for locals.
Visitors to Sea World can enjoy thrilling rides, rides for the little kids, shows, and exhibits. The marine animals featured include killer whales, beluga whales, sharks, dolphins, seals, sea lions, otters. Sea turtles, and 300 penguins, of 4 different species, call Sea World home.
The Shark Encounter takes visitors through underwater viewing tunnels, with sharks swimming all around.
The evening ends with a fireworks show most summer nights.
https://www.donnaamisdavis.com/sea-world/San DiegoSan Diego A to Z(This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge.My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is S.) San Diego has many great...Donna Amis DavisDonna Amis Davis[email protected]AdministratorDonna Amis Davis
Looks great. We have sealife centres at Loch Lomond, Edinburgh and Oban but they are all indoors because it is too cold in Scotland.
I’d like to see those someday!
You should come over to the UK. Visit the main cities of Scotland including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Cities in England are London, York, Liverpool etc. You must visit the English Lakes and Windsor where Queen Elizabeth lives and the Scottish islands.
We enjoyed our visits to San Diego also, but tended to do the historical stuff. Our zoo here is awesome so no need to do it there; but we loved touring the ships, the seashore, and learning about Olde Town and other historical areas.
Old Town is a lot of fun, too. I haven’t written anything about that yet! Research trip in sight.
I visited Sea World with my parents about 15 years ago. While my mom took my brother to the bathroom my dad and I waited for the Orca show and a staff member asked if we wanted to be part of the show. Of course I immediately wanted to and my dad agreed to make me happy. I ended up feeding and petting one of the baby orcas while my dad got completely drenched by the mother orca. To this day I still use “I pet a Killer Whale” at parties 🙂
Oh, you lucky girl! That is so fun. You got to be the Rockstar for the day. It was always a status symbol to get soaking wet from sitting in the front row at the Shamu shows.
I always associate Sea World with Orlando because I lived in Orlando for so long, but it’s definitely more of a San Diego thing than an Orlando thing.
I’m going to have to read more about the Blackfish controversy and rebuttal. I’ve been keeping myself out of the loop, but I’m interested in knowing more about it now.
I’d love to go to Sea World. I went to Busch Gardens when I was a young girl, before Sea World and Disney World were in Orlando.
Donna Smith
The A-to-Z Challenge
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Also my cat’s blog at http://INoahCat.blogspot.com – saw you were a cat person!
I love Sea world…love it!
Hi Corinne! I actually haven’t been myself in years, but my daughter had a membership pass and took my grandkids often, so that’s where some of the above pictures are from.