Texas tourists Meredith Shindler and her 10-year-old Keaton visited the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the Exploratorium, Lombard Street and Pier 39. The Blue Angels whizzed over them in the sky. And they took a tour boat to Alcatraz Island.
But the highlight of the entire four-day trip to San Francisco? A great white shark eating what appears to be a sea lion in the bay.
"Yeah, Keaton's talking mostly about the shark," Shindler told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday in a phone interview from San Antonio after returning home.
She captured the shark on her iPhone 6 Plus on Saturday, just after she and Keaton – and her son's fourth-grade choir – returned from a tour of Alcatraz Island. Shindler had been taking pictures of the scenery when the shark jumped out of the water and began devouring its prey.
"It swam right under us," she said. "I was in shock. I was scared to death."
Meredith ShindlerStill, she instantly switched her camera to video mode and started recording. Keaton's excitement at the cycle of life is evident in the video.
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"That's a great white!" he shouts. "Holy crud!"
"It's Jaws! It's Jaws!" he continues, belting out the theme song of the shark-cult film, then adding, "That's the best thing I've ever seen in my life."
Shark experts said the sight was rare.
Shindler posted the video on YouTube at Keaton's urging – in fact, he helped her publish it. By Wednesday, the clip had been viewed nearly one million times. It's now the property of a licensing company, and Shindler has fielded reporter requests from Australia, Norway and England.
As for Keaton, he wasn't fazed by the bloody event.
"He's pretty well-versed in nature," his mom said. "He knows the guy was just eating a meal."
