Odin and Fedor

Wayne, Esther, and I went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly Marine World) in Vallejo today, and it was so fun and relaxing. I was really excited to see Tiger Island Splash Attack and it was even cooler than I expected. Odin, a white Bengalese tiger, and Fedor, an orange tiger, played around in their habitat then jumped into a small pool to chase chunks of meat thrown by trainers. Their paws were so huge and they were so cute swimming. I took a lot of pics :)

We also saw the dolphin show, the killer whale Shouka show, and the sea lion show along with a few rides, some not so healthy food, and random stuff like giraffe feeding and the shark exhibit. Shouka is no Shamu, let me tell you. She tried and all but I'm looking forward to seeing the real deal Shamu next week at Sea World San Diego.

It was a really chill easygoing day, not at all rushed or super-logistical. We just went with the flow and came when we wanted, wandered from thing to thing and relaxed in the sun and summertime atmosphere. I've told Esther this but it was, and is, so nice to do things with someone else who is organized/a planner. We first went to the tiger show and as we were waiting, I was taking pic after pic of the tigers roaming lazily around and "marking their territory" on trees. I was smiling non-stop. I looked back at Esther and she had taken out the animal show schedule and had already started to mark out, with a highlighter she happened to have, the shows that were interesting and would fit our timeline; planning out our day. Then Wayne looked at it and changed a showtime around based on the park location. Before I even mentioned the show schedule and/or planned it myself, they had done it. It made me feel at peace and content, both knowing that we were all on the same page of having a chill attitude toward the day but also feeling like they were also aware of the logistics that had to be thought of if we wanted to efficiently see most of everything. I guess that's what I like - plannedness with room for spontaneity and a relaxed attitude. Maybe I relax and enjoy myself more knowing that the day is somewhat mapped out and it's not just me that's aware of where we need to go and how we need to get there.

I also felt really cared for, perhaps not a big deal to Esther and Wayne, by their listening to my off-the-charts excitement for the tiger show on the ride up and helping me by letting us see it first and pointing out tiger actions in case I hadn't noticed. Even though they liked it but weren't as into it as I was, I didn't feel like I was forcing them to go or constantly reminding them that I wanted to see it. I guess I didn't feel alone or that I was dragging some reluctant person but instead that there were other ppl watching my back and listening to what I wanted to do. Perhaps small but big to me. Thanks guys :)

It was a really nice day (I got a season pass with tons of free passes and 1/2 prices coupons so I'm happy go again soon) and I feel socially full and happy. I bugged Wayne and Esther especially with my incessant Oden comments and jokes :) but I think maybe you kinda liked it after all Esther! hee hee

We did decide that tigers probably shouldn't ride amusement park roller coasters but I think everyone would agree on that one.

PS. There were people outside the park protesting unfair human labor practices and unsafe animal conditions especially for the elephants. This is the first time I've been to a park that had loud roller coasters, marine life, and zoo animals and I did wonder how that worked for the latter. Someone told me that the zoo animals are more affected by the noise than the marine animals which makes sense. I think of zoos as usually more quiet experiences but Sea World has hecka loud music playing during the shows, etc. I would like to research it more and look into the conditions and how much space the elephants get to walk around in.