Sunshine and Dolphins

WARNING... This is going to be long and filled with pictures :)

I had so much fun in Orlando, Florida with my Mom and Dad. Even though they forced me to go to bed every night at 9 (10 if i was lucky) and wake up at 8:30 every morning I still had a blast! We started out our trip by going to Discovery Cove, which is a sister park to Sea World that specifically is designed for an experience with dolphins. My dad and I got up close and personal with a dolphin named Maraya. My mom is not a fan of the water and sea creatures, so she slept in and visited a view outlet stores. The day began with about 30 minutes of pure, pouring rain and a thunderstorm. I was getting nervous... I had been waiting so long to swim with the dolphins. Luckily, it stopped raining and the sun started peaking through the clouds. Discovery Cove is an all day event; We arrived at 9am and left at about 5pm. It is set up so beautifully, it's filled with tropical flowers and trees and mock sandy beaches. There is plenty to do to keep you occupied all day. We snorkeled in a large coral reef that was filled with colorful fish and giant eagle rays. We stood in a lagoon filled with slimy stingrays swimming around us... you could touch them and feed them... I barely got a finger on one! We also floated around in a long, relaxing lazy river. We were served a very delicious breakfast and a gourmet lunch and had unlimited access to desserts, snacks and drinks. In the middle of our day, we learned all about Maraya. We played with her, fed her, learned tricks and had a few photo shoots! Overall, it was an awesome day! Here are pictures pictures of me and Maraya...

The next 2 days we relaxed by the pool, did some shopping, and ate at a few fun restaurants. One night we explored the City Walk, ate Margaritaville, and went to see the Blue Man Group. If you have never seen them, I would highly recommend it! They are blue, they never say a word, they make cool music, and are hilarious! Here's some pictures from the show, the ones with the Blue Man picture behind us, we were trying to imitate his face....

We played a round of mini-golf at a place called Pirate's Cove. Of course my dad dominated me... Even when I tried to cheat. I tried to get him to act like a pirate but that didn't work...

On our final day, we spent the entire day at Sea World. It was by far the coldest temperatures I have ever felt in Florida. When you are going to Florida, you really don't pack winter clothes! Compared to the high 80s low 90 temperatures we had the rest of the trip... 57 was freezing! The wind didn't help at all, except making it 10 degrees colder! The park was packed, but we still managed to see all the shows. My personal favorite is Clyde and Seamore... The sea lions! Here are a few of my favorite pics...

I came back with an amazing experience with dolphins, a nice tan, a few birthday gifts and amazing memories with my Mom and Dad! Thanks for taking me...Love you guys!