Mama woke me up around seven. She said excitedly, “Emily! Emily! You’re swimming with dolphins today!” Big whoop. Let me sleep, woman!
After a few minutes, what she had said made contact with my brain. I sat up. After staring at the wall for several minutes, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stumbled to the dresser.
I got dressed. An hour later, we were all in the car. After being caught in traffic, we arrived at Dolphin Quest, were I was going to do my thing.
A little while after we got there, we finally managed to find the area where I would be swimming. A trainer said my session started in about ten minutes, so how about we get me a life jacket? We went over to the closet where they kept them. We found one that fit, grabbed a pair of goggles, and then we were in the water!
There were four other people there. One newlywed (her husband was taking pictures), and a Japanese family of three. We climbed onto a platform over the water, wearing our life jackets and goggles, and got to meet the dolphin we would be swimming with. His name was Kaleho. I don’t actually know how to spell it, but it’s pronounced Kuh-lay-ho. At first, we just sat on the steps with our feet in the water and fed the dolphin some squid. Obviously, this was the highlight of their day. The trainer had us all introduce ourselves. The newlywed’s name was Jen, but I couldn't pronounce the Japanese family’s names. It was funny, because two of the trainer’s names were Jen and Emily also!
A few minutes later, we actually got in the water. Our trainer showed us the hand motions they used so the dolphins would do tricks. The first one was this: You hold out your hand, palm down, in front of you. Then you move it in a circle, keeping it level. At this, the dolphin would stand on its tail fin and spin in a circle. Dolphin hula! The second one: You hold up your hand, palm out, and move it in a J. At this, the dolphin will go underwater, swim a little ways, and then jump up in the air, his tail about five feet above the water. The third one: Actually, I don’t remember the motion for this one. I just know that after it the dolphin will stand on its tail and “Walk” across the water.
After a few minutes, what she had said made contact with my brain. I sat up. After staring at the wall for several minutes, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stumbled to the dresser.
I got dressed. An hour later, we were all in the car. After being caught in traffic, we arrived at Dolphin Quest, were I was going to do my thing.
A little while after we got there, we finally managed to find the area where I would be swimming. A trainer said my session started in about ten minutes, so how about we get me a life jacket? We went over to the closet where they kept them. We found one that fit, grabbed a pair of goggles, and then we were in the water!
There were four other people there. One newlywed (her husband was taking pictures), and a Japanese family of three. We climbed onto a platform over the water, wearing our life jackets and goggles, and got to meet the dolphin we would be swimming with. His name was Kaleho. I don’t actually know how to spell it, but it’s pronounced Kuh-lay-ho. At first, we just sat on the steps with our feet in the water and fed the dolphin some squid. Obviously, this was the highlight of their day. The trainer had us all introduce ourselves. The newlywed’s name was Jen, but I couldn't pronounce the Japanese family’s names. It was funny, because two of the trainer’s names were Jen and Emily also!
A few minutes later, we actually got in the water. Our trainer showed us the hand motions they used so the dolphins would do tricks. The first one was this: You hold out your hand, palm down, in front of you. Then you move it in a circle, keeping it level. At this, the dolphin would stand on its tail fin and spin in a circle. Dolphin hula! The second one: You hold up your hand, palm out, and move it in a J. At this, the dolphin will go underwater, swim a little ways, and then jump up in the air, his tail about five feet above the water. The third one: Actually, I don’t remember the motion for this one. I just know that after it the dolphin will stand on its tail and “Walk” across the water.
After that, the trainer got Kaleho to swim up to us and kiss him! It was totally awesome. Then we looked underwater, where he was doing flips beneath us! To end our session, we got to put a hand on the dolphin and swim around the pool with him! Then we climbed out of the water.
All in all, it was one of the best days of my life.
What an ADVENTURE! You kids are doing things that most kids just dream about. Great pictures. GG
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