My mom, Elayna Fernandez Bare, is a blogger. She motivates mothers around the world and helps them be positive role models!  She was invited to Seaworld AdventureCon, a bloggers conference at SeaWorld San Antonio and we got to go with her! It was so fun and exciting, I would like to share my experience with YOU!

 Beautiful Animals You NEED to See!!

• Caribbean Flamingos These animals are the sixth species of flamingos. Caribbean flamingos are tall and elegant. They put one leg up to conserve energy so one half of their body is asleep while the other is awake. They get their pink coloring from crabs and krill they eat.

  

• Bottle-nose Dolphins  Dolphins use echolocation to find food. This means they make high pitched sounds and hear them bounced off prey’s body, which they catch and eat. Dolphins make sounds SO HIGH YOU CAN’T HEAR them, and have a signature whistle. Our dad told us this because he works in audiology. Dolphins eat  fish, squids and crustaceans. They live in temperate and tropical oceans.

• Seals and Sea Lions We went to visit the Harbor seals and Sea Lions, who made loud  moaning sounds. Sea lions  have visible ear flaps while seals have holes.  Both eat  a variety of fish, squids, crabs, shrimps,  and octopuses. We learned the only males in a pack are pups and the alpha. Every female mates with the alpha. He is the biggest and has a bump on his nose.

• African and Asian Otters  Otters are excellent swimmers. Their diet consists of crayfish, crabs, and fish.  They are territorial and communicate with scent.  They are hunted for their velvety fur, and eat crustaceans and mollusks.  Otters are so cute and little!

• Sharks I went to the aquarium with my sisters and dad and saw sharks, stingrays, and fish swimming around, and saw the Bottlenose dolphins while mommy was learning about social media from expert colleagues and friends.  Elisha and I learned that sharks have two fins on their back, and that the more uneven in size they are, the faster they swim. They have several rows of teeth since they lose them quickly. Since we were in a place with dim lights, I was unable to take pictures but can say they were beautiful.

• Lemurs We went behind the scenes and saw lemurs bounding around their cage! They are flexible and eat fruit with the seeds. Then, they go to the restroom to “plant” them!  Lemurs are native to Madagascar only, like the many animals that live there.

My favorite THRILLING rides!

• Grover’s Round Up merry go round at The Bay of Play in Seaworld! I had a great time at the merry go round with our baby sister, Eliana, (10 months,) on the silly-looking ponies! If you have any little toddlers or kids, I suggest you go here!
• Loggerhead lane AKA Lazy river in Aquatica  From little ones to adults, anyone will surely enjoy swimming or floating peacefully through the Lazy river! (which is BTW well named! HEHE)  It goes through beautiful Roa’s Aviary, in my preferred places list right below!
• Wahalla falls! If you  have any children that are daring, let them go here. Wahala Falls gave us a good kind of shock and even scared dad  as we looped up and down!! My mom was not daring enough to go. :D
• Stingray falls!  There are two words to describe it: FUN and AWESOME. This ride isn’t so fast but it does loop and twirl your raft around! At the end, we went under a waterfall leading under the stingray pool, where we got a wonderful view.

My Preferred Places…… :)

• Roa’s Aviary We enjoyed seeing exotic birds and plants such as Peacocks, Scarlet Ibises (with long, down-curved bills,) Roseate Spoonbills (the tip of bill is curved like a spoon), toucans, and doves . I took some GREAT, AMAZING, pics. you really  want to see!
  

• Bay Of Play From a ferris wheel to a jungle gym, this is fun for everyone! Last year we came just in time to get pictures with Elmo and his friends.

• Relax AND Recharge By Southwest Airlines This is where my mom stayed while we went to Wahalla Falls  to sit down and charge her  electronic devices and she LOVES it!
• Conservation Center Saturday afternoon, we went behind the scenes of the conservation center and met Star, a baby bald eagle, who was rescued from her fallen nest after a tornado. She is full grown and has a wingspan of six feet!  Bald eagles were endangered because of a chemical adsorbed by their fish  that made eggs so fragile they cracked when parents tried to incubate them. Luckily, they were put off the endangered list a few years later!

• Animal Interaction Centers All around Seaworld AdventureCon, there are animals to see. Belugas, dolphins, fish, flamingos, and alligators are just a few!

Fun and Inspirational Shows I Suggest:

•  One Ocean! I enjoyed getting splashed by the killer whales, seeing their awesome tricks, and getting a VIP Q&A session with one of the SeaWorld trainers.

• Azul! After Wahalla Falls, we met with mom at Azul! The acrobats were amazing as they twirled in the air! Divers went several feet above ground to jump. There were Pacific white-sided dolphins, Belugas, and Parrots! It’s amazing how quickly animals learn.

• Pets Ahoy! We all enjoyed seeing the Pot belly pigs, parrots, mice, dogs, and cats scurry across the stage! It shows you how SMART animals are!

 I love all creatures.  Animals truly are so humble, meek, and beautiful… They help nature be in balance and are great companions…but, many are already extinct or threatened.

Being at AdventureCon at SeaWorld AdventureCon reminded me of the world of beauty nature has to offer, and that we can help by reducing, reusing, and recycling. It was a MAGICAL EXPERIENCE I will never forget! Thank YOU SeaWorld AdventureCon!

[elyssa]