I Hugged a Dolphin! - Part 2 - Me

Cacique splashing us.



When I was in 5th grade, we had a Science Fair. I did my project on 'Communication Between Man and Dolphin.' I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was back then in the days before Internet and Amazon and being able to find anything you want in the world. I had to do some extensive research. I found a book on the subject and learned what was involved in becoming a marine biologist. I wrote to a dolphin institute with a list of questions and they wrote back. Then I even managed to track down a record album of dolphin and whale sounds. I played that during my science fair presentation. It was a hit.

The whole thing was so exotic and out-of-reach for a girl from southwestern Ohio. I was about as likely to become a marine biologist as I was an astronaut. So I never ever expected to hug a dolphin one day.

Oh, I knew that there were tourist attractions in Mexico and other warm, tropical places where you could pay a small fortune to be in the water with dolphins and have your picture taken with them. But they were so expensive and I still didn't believe that you would actually interact with a dolphin. Then we booked a Dolphin Encounter for the day we went to the Bahamas. It was my pay-off for working a million hours of overtime this fall.

My husband was opposed to it on principle. We'd watched a terrifying documentary called "The Cove" that revealed the horrible slaughter of dolphins taking place in Japan and all the money involved in trapping and selling them to dolphin shows for tourists. It was a hard show to watch and we vowed to boycott companies that used dolphins as entertainment. We didn't want to add to the market for capturing dolphins.

But my daughter wanted to play with dolphins, and it looked like so much fun. Secretly, I wanted to, too.

We booked the excursion.

About eight of us at a time kneeled on a platform in a caged-off area of the water. Our dolphin, Cacique, swam in circles in front of us, splashing us with his antics so that we were all as wet as he was. Then he started down the line, giving each of us a kiss on the cheek and a chance to rub him down. We were all delighted. Then he began giving hugs. We were instructed to hold out our arms and Cacique moved up into them, pressing himself against us and holding us in an embrace that I never expected. A million thoughts scrambled through my mind:

oh my god I'm hugging a dolphin he's so heavy I don't know if I'm doing this right does he like it am I hurting him I'm hugging a dolphin! am I supposed to be doing this he does this all day I am hugging a dolphin he's so sleek and friendly he has his fins around me like he's hugging me I wonder where that dolphin book I had was I want to keep hugging him does he like doing this does he know how wonderful I think this is can he feel my excitement I didn't think this would be a real hug what about the cove he's okay isn't he I wish I'd never seen that film this is awesome I wish I could take a picture I can't believe I'm hugging a dolphin!

Then he moved on to the next person down the row.

I was on Cloud Nine. This was an experience that I'll never forget. But the hug wasn't the end of it. We also got to dance with him, holding his fins. We got to run our hands across his teeth. We got to kiss him (which wasn't gross) and we got to feed him a fish. We each spent about a total of 5-10 minutes with him; too short a time, but even hours wouldn't have been enough.

This was one of the highlights of my life; an experience I'll never forget. If I close my eyes and imagine it, I can still feel the weight of Cacique pressed against me as we embraced. It took me back to childhood and my fascination with this intelligent species. I feel guilty about perpetuating the exploitation of dolphins, but can't help myself. It was absolutely magical to me. I hugged a dolphin!

Dolphins - Part 1 - Izzy

While we were in the Bahamas, our excursion included a dolphin encounter. The next few posts will share the reactions of my 11-year-old daughter, myself, and my husband on interacting with a dolphin.

    

          The dolphin encounter was amazing! We kissed him, hugged him, danced with him, gave him treats, and even got kissed by him! I am going to say my two favorite parts.

My first favorite part is when we got kissed by the dolphin. We walked into the water and the dolphin trainer said we had to kneel down. It was the coldest water I had ever been in and I went into water in Maine during the month of July. When the dolphin swam up to us for a kiss I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be soft or rough? It turns out he was soft and delicate. It was awesome!

My second favorite part is when we danced with him. He would wiggle and make you dance with him. One lady fell down because the dolphin was surprisingly heavy. There is not much more to tell you other than it was FUN! Other than that you will have to experience it yourself.

Parasailing

P is for the parachute behind me

A is for the air that makes it float

R is for the riptide waiting for me

A is 'please accelerate the boat!’

S is for the sunshine waning quickly,

A is for the angst of flying blind.

I is for intensive care insurance,

L is for the love I leave behind.

Just kidding. Parasailing was fun and peaceful; not scary at all. I can't wait to go again!

Engaged!

My son just proposed to his girlfriend. We couldn't be more thrilled. They make such a cute couple and are so good together. They have the same temperaments, interests and values. They're good to each other and for each other. All a mother can ever want is for her children to be happy, and my son is definitely happy.

I'm happy, too; I'm gaining a wonderful daughter-in-law! But first, a long engagement. At least, that's the plan right now. But so far, Mac hasn't stuck to the plan.

He was going to propose this coming September, then changed his mind and decided to propose during our cruise. He was actually going to propose underwater while he and Chelsea were snorkeling. (She would have loved that. See what I mean? They're perfect for each other.) Apparently he had the ring tied to his wet suit. But man-o-wars changed that plan and he ended up proposing on the boat. So while they say they're going to have a long engagement, we'll see how things really play out.

I'm so excited!

Key Lime Pie in The Keys

We were already thinking of having Key lime pie while in Key West, but when we watched Rachael Ray's $40 A Day, that cinched it. She traveled to the Keys and the locals recommended she have Key lime pie for breakfast. I'm always an advocate of pie for breakfast, so watched in eager anticipation as Rachael ordered it at the Crack'd Conch. Of course, since she's Rachael Ray, she got to go back into the kitchen to watch the cook make it.

They took fresh Key limes from a nearby tree and added sour cream, condensed milk, and plenty of homemade whipped cream on top. It looked absolutely delicious and we knew we had to get a slice on our trip.

Unfortunately, we were only in Key West, not Key Largo where Rachael had filmed her show. And as it turns out, the Crack'd Conch has actually closed since she filmed her show. But we needn't have worried. Nearly every place we passed on our Duval Crawl offered Key lime pie. We decided to stop in the Key Lime Factory Shop for our taste of the Keys.

The pie was tart. It was sweet. It was fantastic! The shop is a gift shop, too, so we brought home a little flavor of the Keys to enjoy later this winter. Hopefully it will take us back as soon as we take our first bite.

Papa's Polydactyls

I absolutely loved visiting the Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida. The old stone mansion was gorgeous, with floor-to-ceiling windows lining the walls of nearly every room. All of them were open and fans hummed from the corners, circulating the air and gently stirring the curtains in the breeze.

I would have married Hemingway just to live there.

I fit some of the qualifications of his wives: like them, I am a writer. I hadn't realized that all four of his wives were writers, mostly reporters. I knew he was a womanizer, but thought he was just looking for the next pretty face. Apparently he appreciated their minds, too. Just not their hearts, I guess, since he kept cheating on them.

Maybe instead of a Hemingway wife, I'd rather be one of Hemingway's cats. Descendants of his first polydactyl (six- or seven-toed cats) still roam the grounds of his beautiful Key West estate. It's rumored that there are 44-50 of them still living there. We only saw five during our visit, and were amused that they were immune to the crowds. One cat strolled into the master bedroom and flopped down on the bed while we all circled around it listening to the tour guide.

Hemingway wrote the majority of his novels while living in Key West. His studio was just as gorgeous as the house. I think that if I could live there, I'd get some great writing done, too. Or maybe I'd be as lazy as a cat, lounging on a bed in paradise.

I Need My Space

My son suggested we make a stop at Kennedy Space Center during our trip to Florida. I'd taken him there as a child and we were lucky enough to sit on the beach at Cocoa Island and watch a shuttle launch. I was thrilled that he remembered it. So often, I think parents treat their children to experiences that they later forget because they are so young. But we both remembered what it was like to sit on the beach and watch that ball of fire race up into the sky and out of view before we even heard and felt the booming thunder in its wake.

This trip to Kennedy Space Center was a little different. The focus now was on things that happened in the past.




Vehicle Assembly Building



We experienced a simulated shuttle launch that my daughter loved. It made the skin (okay, fat) of my cheeks quake and shiver until I thought flaps of skin would permanently be misshapen and hang like cheek-earlobes on my face. I knew right then that I'd never want to be an astronaut. Not that I ever wanted to be one to begin with.

We took the bus tour around the immense acreage of the Space Center. My husband commented on how massive everything was. You don't realize it at first because there is little to compare things to, but when the tour guide started explaining the actual size of everything, we started to realize how dwarfed we were in comparison. For instance, the stripes on the flag on the single-story Vehicle Assembly Building are 9 feet across and the blue area is as large as a regulation basketball court. The building itself is 526 feet high and covers 8 acres.
 On one of the stops we climbed the steps to an observation deck where we viewed the launch pads. It was easy to visualize the rockets launching from there, especially after we watched videos of past launches that brought all of it to life.



This was the case as well when we stopped at the Apollo/Saturn V Center where we sat in the Firing Room and gazed down on the actual control panels that were used during the Apollo launch. Up on the big screens we watched the events of that day and then the walls and windows started rattling and shaking just as they had during the real launch. It was exciting.

But the part I loved most was the Hubble 3D film at the Imax Theatre. We got to journey with the Hubble crew who went up to fix the massive telescope. The views of Earth were as breathtaking as ever, but it was the views beyond our galaxy that captivated me. We saw pictures of solar systems being born. They looked like thunderstorm clouds surrounding small balls of fire. We saw clusters of galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster; our closest intergalactic neighbor. And beyond that, older galaxies that are billions of light years away.

Apollo/Saturn V Center



The images were so phenomenal that they seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. The cloudy masses, beautiful colors and swirling shapes made me feel like a child. I sat in the theater awed, thinking Is that really out there?

I love the insignificance I feel every time I stare out at the sky. But I don't know that I've ever realized the insignificance as greatly as I did after seeing those images from the Hubble telescope. It made me wish that we were exploring space even farther. It made me wonder how far we could go.

I only went as far as the gift shop where there were t-shirts and other souvenirs embossed with the phrase I Need My Space. Could any other phrase ever be so true?