Sunny San Diego - Part II

Continuing from Part I, we are now into Day 4 of our vacation to Sunny San Diego.

The Dana is within walking distance of SeaWorld but since they provide a shuttle, we took advantage of it. We had planned on spending the entire day there and so we purchased the 50th Anniversary weekday tickets at $50.00 each and All-Day Dining Deal on-line with $5.00 discount each. That pretty much covered our expenses for the day except for souvenirs and knick-knacks.

Our first stop at SeaWorld was Cafe 64 to tank up for the morning. Burgers may sound a little heavy for breakfast but I think we more than walked it all off before our next meal. 😉 After breakfast we were ready to meet the sharks, dolphins, and orcas. The Blue Horizons Dolphin Show and One Ocean Shamu Show are a must see and we wanted to catch the morning shows as sitting in one spot under the relentless afternoon sun can be scorching. Even so, we were quite burnt by the time we were done. Be sure to slap on that sun screen when you visit.

Please click on any of the pictures to view them in a descriptive gallery.

: Shark Encounter at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Blue Horizons Dolphin Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Blue Horizons Dolphin Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Blue Horizons Dolphin Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Blue Horizons Dolphin Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Blue Horizons Dolphin Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: One Ocean Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: One Ocean Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Shamu giving the spectators a big splash during the One Ocean Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

Next came lunch at the Calypso Bay Smokehouse, rides, beluga whales, polar bears, Sea Lions Live Show, and Cirque de la Mer show. After dinner, we were ready to head back to the resort. The boys did not want to stay for the Shamu’s Celebration: Light Up the Night Show or Celebrate the Wonder – Fireworks. Since we had missed the mid evening shuttle and did not want to wait for the last one at 10:15pm, we took a 15 minutes walk back to the hotel and watched the fireworks from there.

: Soaring, diving, and twisting on Manta, the multi-media double-launch coaster at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Journey to Atlantis, water ride that combines soaking flume fun, thrilling coaster action, and amazing special effects at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Journey to Atlantis ride with its splashy 60-foot plunge at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Bayside Skyride over Mission Bay at SeaWorld, San Diego

: The view from the the Bayside Skyride gondola at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Sea Lions Live Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Sea Lions Live Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Sea Lions Live Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Cirque de la Mer Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Cirque de la Mer Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

: Cirque de la Mer Show at SeaWorld, San Diego

We rented bicycles for Day 5 and cycled around scenic La Jolla, San Diego’s jewel by the sea. This place is lined with upscale designer boutiques, museum, art galleries, fine restaurants, magnificent ocean views, and beautiful beaches. One can’t help but dream of life in one of those fabulous beach front homes. 😉 For the present, it was fun to watch the seagulls and sea lions in their natural habitat. Lunch was quick and delicious fish tacos at Wahoo’s and dinner was ramen at Rakiraki back in San Diego. We even stopped by Ranch 99 after dinner for some Asian groceries.

: Cycling in La Jolla

: The cliffs at La Jolla

: Seagulls at La Jolla

: Sea lions at La Jolla

: Sea lions at La Jolla

: The tide pools along the shores of La Jolla

: Tiny crab in one of the tide pools along the shores of La Jolla

: The beach front at La Jolla

: The beaches at La Jolla

: Mt Soledad National Veterans Memorial, La Jolla

: Original signature ramen at Rakiraki

Day 6 is our final day in Sunny San Diego. Our flight out to Minneapolis was in the evening and so we took some towels and headed for the sandy beaches close to Belmont Park. For lunch, we drove to Coronado for Asian fusion at Bistro d’ Asia. Of course we checked out the Hotel del Coronado but that is for another visit.