It's a Wet, Wet, Wet, Wet World

This weekend, I marked a few things off my San Diego "To Do" list. On Saturday, I ventured to Pt. Loma to visit the Cabrillo National Monument and the old lighthouse, which features a spiral staircase.




While in Pt. Loma, I also visited the area's tidepools and Rosencrans National Cemetary. I planned to end the day with an amphibious tour of San Diego, but returned downtown just in time for to figure out that I was in the wrong place to buy tickets for the day's final launch. The Sea And Land Adventure (SEAL) tour would wait a day. In the meantime, I enjoyed the view along Harbor Drive, took another look at the tall ship that had starred in Master and Commander (now at port in San Diego), and discovered behind it a Russian submarine that will be opening to public tours after Memorial Day.




On Sunday, determined to take the SEAL tour, I found the amphibious vehicle at Seaport Village.




The tour was a bit overpriced, but it was a joy to be on the water watching sea lions at play. Or, more accurately, at rest.




Sea World isn't far from Seaport Village, so at the end of my SEAL tour, I decided to take advantage of the Sea World membership I'd bought weeks earlier and catch the Shamu and dolphin shows again. This time, without my camera in front of my face. I had plenty of time to kill before Shamu's 7 pm appearance, so after watching the dolphins jump and play, I went to find the interaction area. I had surprising success attracting dolphins for petting before their scheduled feeding began, but one ornery dolphin soon tired of answering my becon without reward and made it a point to splash me for wasting his time. At the bottom of the hour, I made a point out of buying fish to reward him. Petting a dolphin was one thing. But handling a dead fish to feed him? Quite another. Well... there's a first time for everything.




I'd gotten a spray or two from the staged dolphin show, but my splashy friend here set the tone for the rest of the day. I would be SOAKED.

With an hour to go before Shamu would take center stage, I opted to kill time on Shipwreck Rapids, a ride akin to the Grizzly River family of entertainments at California Adventure and Nashville's now-lost Opryland theme parks.




For me, this one was almost perfect. All rides in this family are too short, but this one allowed for a lot of drenching without any terrifying drops. Woo-hoo!

Then it was time for Shamu. Last time I went to Sea World, I sat front and center in the Soak Zone but exited the stadium dry. Not this time. It's a good thing I had no plans to pull out the camera, because ol' Shammy was determined to drench the heck out of me. He recognized me. He had a score to settle. He got me. Three times in quick succession with an impressive swat of his tail. Don't get into a splash fight with a killer whale. You'll lose.

Shamu did such a wonderful job targeting me, in fact, that in one of the clear moments between splashes, as I was wiping salt water from my eyes, I saw my melted self larger than life on the JumboTron, wet and cold and laughing like crazy for all to see. A great time.

I rushed home to a hot shower and warm, dry clothes, made dinner, and noticed a bit of a sunburn. I'll pay for my weekend adventures today. But I wouldn't trade them.