IRL - it's an acronym used when online friends meet "In Real Life."
Shamu drops in on the Wildside Reunion Ice Cream SocialLast weekend, nearly 20 Texas bloggers got together IRL for the Wildside bloggers reunion. This is the second year that SeaWorld has hosted the event, during which a group of select bloggers from across the state converge at the park for a weekend with their families.
Many of these folks communicate with each other regularly on the Web - either through comments on their blogs, Twitter messages or Facebook posts. So, the chance to see each other in the flesh isn't one they get very often. The bloggers hail from all over the state, from Dallas and Austin to Houston and San Antonio. The Wildside reunion gave them a chance to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and experience the fun of a day at SeaWorld with them all.
I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the bloggers at previous SeaWorld events, but this was the first time for me to meet many of them IRL. We started the weekend with an Ice Cream Social at the nearby Holiday Inn Northwest, a great hotel partner known for being San Antonio's greenest hotel.
Debi (aka @MomonMars) meeting our umbrella cockatoo. Photo by @Kamichat.Our host, Penny Herring with Holiday Inn, treated us to ice cream and cake since the reunion weekend happen to fall on a birthday Wildside blogger MommaDJane's teenager daughter, Topanga.
At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, we met at SeaWorld to enjoy the day. First on the agenda was stopping by Dolphin Cove to feed the dolphins. Since the rest of park doesn't open until 10 a.m., this is a great activity to get in early.
Next, we dropped by Castaway Cafe to grab a bite and meet some animal friends. One of the bloggers, MomonMars, got to hold one of the animal ambassadors - Susie the umbrella cockatoo. As it turns out Susie is no spring chick, but at 30 years old she's only middle aged.
After that, the Wildsiders and their families left to experience the park, blasting Tweets throughout the day to let each other know what was going on.
Finally, we all caught up for the 5:30 showing of Azul: Lure of the Sea. It was a completely packed house, so everyone scrunched together to watch the show. And after the show, we got to meet a few of the cast members.
The Wildsiders are true friends to SeaWorld's animals and staff. In fact, one of the Wildside attendee's husband, Sean, is a tennis blogger and he's offered to get me connected to the tennis scene in San Antonio. That's what these folks do best - make connections - and I feel fortunate to have connected with them IRL.
