We Love Dolphins!

The final encounter with the dolphins was completely amazing. This time we swam out into the deep water and laid down. The two dolphins then put their noses in the curve of our feet and pushed us back to shore. Just like in dolphin shows, we naturally rose out of the water. This ride probably didn’t last more than 15 seconds, but it was incredibly exciting and we all agreed that it was the best part of the day. Jimmy actually got to do it twice because one of the dolphins decided not to participate the first time and had to try again. Afterwards, we had about two hours to enjoy the lazy river, the aviary and the coral reef. What an unforgettable experience!

More Time with the Dolphins...

Our second time in the dolphin lagoon was very special as this encounter was just for the Trainers for the Day. There was only our group of six plus the trainers with two dolphins, Diego and Rascal. This time both dolphins pulled us back from the deep water to the shore. This was a much faster and exhilarating ride with an incredible amount of water thrown into our faces.

Beyond Dolphins...

After lunch, Eddie took us into the Ray Lagoon to feed the stingrays (with the stingers removed for obvious reasons). It felt very strange to stand in the water and feed these very slippery creatures while they were surrounding us. Then we got to pet a nurse shark that is being trained to take food from a trainer using a tube. Afterwards, we had some free time to go snorkeling in the coral reef. It was very exciting for the girls to put their snorkeling lessons to good use for the first time to swim with fish. Veronica tried having a giant stingray pull her, but the lifeguard wasn’t amused.

Our First Deep Water Interaction...

We were all smiles during our first deep water interaction with Capricorn, which consisted of us swimming into the deep water, holding onto two of his fins and having him pull us back to shore. It was a very gentle ride and we all thought it was great fun.

One Major Surprise!

As much as I don’t like to lie, when we arrived in Orlando, I told the girls we’d be flying out to California the next morning. When we woke up, I said that the airline had called and said our flight was delayed so we’d be going somewhere to swim. Even as we arrived at Discovery Cove, the girls had no idea that we’d be swimming with dolphins. We’d booked the premium Trainer for the Day package and were pulled out of line to meet Eddie, our trainer, at breakfast. He asked if anyone had any questions before we got started and Veronica said “What are we doing here?” They sure were excited when they found out that we’d be doing a behind the scenes tour, then going into the lagoon to meet a dolphin. We met Capricorn, the largest dolphin in the park at 650 pounds and over 40-years-old. We were thrilled to get to pet, hug, kiss and feed him before our first deep water interaction.

Tubing the Ichetucknee...

After 3 days at the beach, we drove to Gainesville for 2 days with Vivynne and clan. Our first day was relaxed with some time at the pool, a gourmet dinner and a movie in their new home theater room, which was previously their game room. Unfortunately, Tony had to work, so he wasn’t able to join us for our tubing adventure down the Ichetucknee. This river is fed by a natural spring, so the water’s 73° year round. We did a 1.5 hour float through the crystalline water; the girls and Jimmy swam a lot, but I preferred to just float in my tube. We saw a lot of turtles along the water’s edge, but didn’t see any alligators, which was actually a relief considering all those dangling legs in the water.

Visiting Margaritaville...

The story of our time in Jax Beach wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Margaritaville, not the song, but the frozen concoction maker. Debbie’s husband wasn’t able to join us as he’s working in Connecticut, but his brother and family were there with his new fancy frozen drink maker. Sixteen-year-old Sarah had just returned from a month in Belgium, where she was legally introduced to fine Belgian beers. While she could no longer imbibe, she was happy to make us margaritas and pina coladas.