Amazing, right?!
As a little girl, I was never a Girl Scout. It just wasn’t something a lot of girls in the area did, and if they did do it, I was completely unaware. My daughter joined Girl Scouts in Kindergarten as a Daisy and she is now in her first year as a Brownie.
Her experience with this organization has been fantastic, and I must say mine has been too. Last weekend we went camping…and not just anywhere. We went camping at Sea World in San Diego. Unfortunately it was the same day as Burbank On Parade, so I had to make my choice and as much as it pained me to miss my very favorite Burbank event, I knew the opportunity to do this with my little girl wont come as often as I like…it was a no brainer.
So, camping we went! My husband was out of town on work, so I recruited my brother and his wife to take the other two kids overnight for me.

Sea World was so incredibly organized and prepared for us, and the handful of other groups camping there that night, we never had any question on where we were to be or what we were doing next. Having great Girl Scout leaders also helps there too. Thank you ladies for that.
We arrived early Saturday morning and after checking in, we were able to spend the entire day in small groups exploring the park, seeing the shows and eating ice cream, cotton candy and a few real foods too. We saw everything we could see, including the shows and animal exhibits, but there was an element missing… people in the water with the whales.
Let me explain lest I have any groups angry at me.

However, I was a child then. I know different now. I have a different perspective and since the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau and a few others, I think it’s wise to reconsider…not just wise, but imperative.
The shows were still brilliant. Sea world has created more of a human element to the dolphin show, from what I can remember anyway. This includes a little trapeze/bungee work and high dives. We purposely sat in the splash zone at that show, but fortunately or unfortunately, didn’t get wet.

Turns out I slept looking at sharks, but it wasn’t all that bad.
Before we were able to set up our sleeping bags, we still had a full night of adventures waiting for us. We were up until Midnight folks. Midnight! I haven’t been up that late in years, intentionally anyway.

I’m not lying when I tell you I was giddy. I was so happy for my daughter and the experience she was getting through Girl Scouts to do this. I’ll just say, staying up until Midnight was no big deal. It was truly some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time!

We camped out on the floor in The World of The Sea. Shelby and I shared space and watched sharks swim back and forth as we fell asleep.
It probably took me .02 seconds to fall asleep though..sharks and all.
Getting up off the floor in the morning helped me understand how old I really am getting and a camping experience just isnt the same without a camp counselor saying “Good Morning Campers…rise and shine!”…. at 7 am.
I hurt, I was tired and I was happy.
Our adventure didn’t end there though… we got to feed the Sea Lions their breakfast and we got to eat our own breakfast while watching Shamu get a training session in, merely feet from us.
Just awesome.

It’s very hard to get quality one on one time carved out for each of my kids, but the time I was able to spend with Shelby is priceless and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
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