Celebrate Nick's Entering 6th Grade 8/9/2010
Mr. Nick is now entering the 6th grade and is planning another smashing year of working hard and getting good grades so it is time to celebrate! Off to Sea World with Robin and Bob, Anna (Bob's sister) and son John.
The weather was supposed to be cool but it made it into the mid 70's
Click the map for full size
Visit the Sea World Website for the
latest and greated information!
We made it.... Right at 10 am!
"OK, the party can start!"
"Where do we go first???"
"Up, silly girl!"
"Hello, I am a walrus wearing a bird disguise!"
The Sky Tower
The Sky Tower is a 320-foot (98 m) observation tower that was built in 1969. The ride was refurbished in 2002 with a new capsule. The ride gives passengers a six-minute view of SeaWorld and San Diego. It rises at a rate of 150 ft. per minute while spinning slowly (1.02rpm). Once you board this gentle ride, you'll be lifted up high into the air, where (on a clear day!), you'll be able to see up to 100 miles in all directions! Since Sea World of San Diego sits on scenic Mission Bay near the Pacific Ocean, the view is quite pretty, indeed.
300 feet straight up!
They do not look frightened!
An, what are the springs for???
This is high enough for me..... Paul, we haven't moved yet!
What is all this machinery???
Did you know? - The Auckland Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is 328 meters (1,076 ft) tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and the 14th tallest member of the World Federation of Great Towers. Due to its shape and height, especially when compared to the next tallest buildings, it has become an iconic structure in Auckland's skyline.
The lights make it visible for miles and miles and they are RED, WHITE, and BLUE!
"How come they are not frightened??"
Up we go into the wild blue yonder
Did you know? - "The U.S. Air Force" is the official song of the United States Air Force. It is known informally as "The Air Force Song," and is often referred to informally as "Into the Wild Blue Yonder", "Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder," or simply "Wild Blue Yonder."
Originally, the song was known as the 'Army Air Corps Song.' Captain Robert MacArthur Crawford wrote the lyrics and music during 1939. During 1947, the words "U.S. Air Force" in the title and lyrics replaced the original "Army Air Corps". On September 27, 1979, General Lew Allen, Jr., Chief of Staff of the Air Force, adopted it as the official song for the service.
In 1937, Assistant Chief of the Air Corps Brig. Gen. Hap Arnold persuaded the Chief of the Air Corps, Maj. Gen. Oscar Westover, that airmen needed a song reflecting their unique identity, and proposed a song competition with a prize to the winner. However, the Air Corps did not control its budget, and could not give a prize. Liberty magazine stepped in, offering a prize of $1,000 to the winner.
Around 757 compositions were entered, and evaluated by a volunteer committee chaired by Mildred Yount, the wife of a senior Air Corps officer, and featuring several distinguished musicians. The committee had until July 1939 to make a final choice. However, word eventually spread that the committee did not find any songs that satisfied them, despite the great number of entries. Arnold, who assumed command of the Air Corps in 1938 after Westover was killed in a plane crash, solicited direct inquiries from contestants, including Irving Berlin, but not even Berlin's creations proved satisfactory. Just before the deadline, Crawford entered his song, which proved to be a unanimous winner.
We will be there in a little while to see the dolphins!
The water coaster called Atlantis
Did you know? - The boat leaves the station and climbs the first lift hill, once at the top of the lift the boat takes a small decline to pick up a little speed and then travels around a right-hand turn that leads to the first tower building. The boat then enters the tower and plunges down a flume drop into a small man-made lake of water below.
San Diego Skyline
Did you know? - San Diego, named after Saint Didacus (Spanish: Diego de Alcalá), is the eighth largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California, after Los Angeles, with a population of 1,359,132 (Jan 2010) within its administrative limits on a land area of 372.1 square miles (963.7 km2).
The urban area of San Diego extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 2,880,000. Also, this is part of megalopolis (San Diego and Los Angeles metropolitan areas) with a population of about 22 million. Located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States.
Water everywhere!
Shamu stadium in the background
Shamu has a nice pond to play in!
Shamu's home
Did you know? - Shamu was the fourth killer whale (orca) ever captured (second female) and was the third orca ever displayed in a public exhibit. She was the first orca to survive more than 13 months in captivity and was the star of a very popular killer whale show at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid - late 1960s. After her death in 1971, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld "Shamu" orca shows for different killer whales in different SeaWorld parks.
Shamu represents the first successful intentional live-capture of a healthy orca. Three previous orca captures (including Moby Doll and Namu) had been more opportunistic. The very young (14 foot / 4.25m, 2000lb / 900kg) Southern Resident orca Shamu was captured by Ted Griffin in Puget Sound in October, 1965 to be a companion for the orca Namu at Griffin's Seattle public aquarium.
But the two orcas experienced social conflicts so Shamu was leased to and then purchased by SeaWorld in San Diego in December 1965. She performed for several years in SeaWorld shows and eventually died on August 23, 1971 from an unspecified infection.
Dolphins and Beluga Whales are shown here
The ocean is near by!
Great theater!
The main gift store and one of the dining areas!
OK, this is high enough! Time to go down!
Ah... Escape!
"Keep moving!"
We went up in that???
Ah, what is holding it up??
The tower can be seen from everywhere!