This weekend I am positively THRILLED to be headed to San Antonio to attend Sea World’s AdventureCon 2012 blogger conference. It’s kind of a “conference-lite” for bloggers and their whole families. I think you can still join us if you’re interested in a weekend of family fun in the sun with likeminded media types. Conference tickets are only $65 and that includes admission to the parks and food and lots of perks that save you money verses just buying each member of your family a regular admission pass.
2. Introducing my boys to their very first roller coasters. Sea World has Great White and Steel Eel and my husband is pumped about having someone to ride with him now since I can’t stand coasters. Not my idea of fun. Nathan is super excited but I’m not sure if Alex is quite ready for a full sized coaster. I’ll ride the smaller Shamu Express with him.
3. Hanging with the animals! To me the best part of Sea World is the animal exhibits, especially my favorite animals, the penguins. The orcas in the Shamu show are pretty awesome too. It seems like there are great shows to look forward to all day and night long.
4. Checking out Aquatica, Sea World’s new water park that just opened last month. There are water slides galore, sand beaches and a big wave pool to play in. I especially wanna do the one where you go through a tunnel with stingrays swimming above you.
5. Staying at the Courtyard Marriott with my family. My kids love the hotel experience which we’ve only had with them a couple times years ago. This time (knock on wood) they are old enough we shouldn’t have to worry about them keeping us up all night. I’m grateful for the super reasonable hotel rate the conference provided us. Even our tight budget could handle it.
6. Learning more about storytelling for my blog from speaker Jeff Herrington. Becoming a better storyteller is near the tippy top of my list of life goals.
7. Improving my video production skills with a session lead by award winning producers Robert Currie and Salwa Khan. I’m very interested in this, especially before I start traveling to Haiti where I want to create some compelling film.
8. Leading a photography session with a photowalk around Sea World! Photography ignites my soul and nothing gets me more excited than passing on what I’ve learned to others. I can’t wait to see some of the images that result from our time together on Saturday!
9. Learning more about Sea World’s awesome conservation efforts. As an environmental engineer in the field of water protection you can imagine how much I care about preserving God’s creation. I know Sea World is a lot more than a theme park and I’m anxious to hear more.
10. Joining the other awesome Sea World Wildside Bloggers and getting to know them. I’m grateful to have been invited to be a “Wildsider” this year and to have the opportunity to really get to know more about Sea World and Aquatica.
