February 28, 2011

Day 3: Discovery Cove



Captivating kisses in captivity. Grabbing on to the dorsal fin of what feels like a giant, velvety muscle to be escorted through the water is as good as it looks on these Johnsons' faces. That said, I couldn't help feeling a little sad for the dolphins kept in these pools in pretty large numbers. My dad made a good point, though, when he said that anyone who comes here and listens to a dolphin chatter and chirrup and sees its constant beaming head is much more likely to try to help them out in terms of their conservation.













Here, the dolphins would all swim over to where they could peer at you - so interactive. As you stood there, they would raise their nozzles out of the water to splash you, forcing water over the glass edge. They did this over and over because they loved the reaction so thoroughly. Sometimes they would even do big, pounding splashes with their tails. Andrew and John kept trying the hand signals we had learned earlier from when we met Roxy, the dolphin. Sometimes it worked, most of the time they splashed and looked really tickled with themselves.







All in all, the creation of these micro-worlds - including a coral reef full of spotted eels and florescent fish to snorkel in, sand beaches, an aviary full of tropical birds and the extensive tropical fauna my mom and I are standing in above (all in land-locked Orlando, FL) - was A OK.

February 27, 2011

Day 2: Universal Studios.



Day 2 was Universal Studios - where there had been much talk about Harry Potter land and Andrew was anxiously awaiting his chance to size up Hogsmeade. Marguerite was pretty excited to pass through Dr. Seuss-land on our way, where we ran into trufulla trees and many sneeches - star-bellied and not - and green eggs and ham. Her English vocabulary is actually most extensive in this lexicon, so she was right at home here.









I think he approved.























February 26, 2011

One girl show.



We ran into Curious George at Universal. Marguerite knows him and told me that he can't stop "faire des bêtises" (making mischief), which is pretty accurate.



Then we ran into Curious George world, which Marguerite very much appreciated. It became the one-girl show, where she took on making all the mischief herself.











February 25, 2011

Guess.



The animal. What has these toes?



This tail?



Eats these?

February 24, 2011

Day 1: SeaWorld.



We started by petting penguins backstage. Feathers so soft it was like fur, not blubber - why was I expecting blubber?









Then we got walrus kisses - shoulder walrus kisses. Suction cup, shoulder walrus kisses. They were so enjoyable. The walrus weighed 2,500 pounds.





And dolphin delights. They can't not.







And to end the dazzling day (I wasn't necessarily expecting to be so dazzled, but I was nonetheless, and it happened to be the one-year anniversary of Tilly the whale's killing the trainer - a sad, but not unexpected story of the un-tameable nature of nature)...the dolphin, macaw, humans-dressed-as-dolphins/macaws, singing dancing, high diving show. Quite the spectacle.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...