Hilary
There's always something new to learn!
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2000
- Messages
- 6,483
There goes Florida, part 4 Dolphin Research Centre
Cast
Me Hilary, 48. Beginning to suffer from planning overload, but looking forward to seeing some new-to-us parts of Florida.
DH Jeremy, 49. Looking forward to fishing opportunities in the Keys and on the coast, but could do without quite as long in Orlando.
DD1 Rhian , 19. Looking forward to forgetting university studies for two weeks anything else will be a bonus.
DD2 Amy, 15. Looking forward to first trip to IOA , Mission Space and the Hard Rock Hotel, but not looking forward to the prospect of being ill on the flights again.
Our accommodation at the Banana Bay resort included a free buffet breakfast. There was a good choice of fruit juices, coffee, cereals, bread and bagels plus do-it-yourself toaster, muffins, jams, fruits and hard-boiled eggs. Not sure about the eggs, but there was plenty to tide us over until lunchtime.
We had decided to visit the Dolphin Research Centre on Grassy Key today, but hadnt pre-booked any dolphin interaction programmes, and wondered whether wed be able to get in to see anything, as it was coming up to Easter and would undoubtedly be busy. Wed looked for information about the Centre before leaving the UK, but hadnt been able to make any firm plans because we didnt know when Jeremy would be able to book his fishing trip. The Centre was only about 20 minutes away from Banana Bay, so we set off early to get there for opening, to try and get on one of the non pre-bookable programmes. We neednt have worried there were plenty of spaces left on nearly all the programmes so, after much dithering and indecision, Amy was booked on the Dolphin Splash and Rhian opted for Hands on Training.
Both of these sessions were scheduled for the afternoon, so we had a quick look around and then went for a drive further down Highway 1. We crossed the Seven Mile Bridge, intending to continue further down the Keys, but decided wed seen enough and went straight back to Marathon! No sense of adventure, thats our trouble. We had lunch at the Seven Mile Grill which had been recommended in one of the guide books as having the best Key Lime Pie in the Keys. Well, it would have been rude not to try it, wouldnt it? It was very scrummy, but probably would have been much nicer if we hadnt also ordered a slice of Peanut Butter Pie. You can definitely have too much of a good thing sometimes! I was pleased neither of the girls had chosen dolphin interactions that involved swimming, as I didnt think they would have been at their most buoyant after that lot.
So, after lunch we returned to the Dolphin Research Centre for Amys Dolphin Splash. Although there are several enclosures where the interactions take place, we liked the fact that the fencing is very low and the dolphins could easily jump over it, and out to sea, if they wanted to. Its a very informal kind of place and I didnt ever get the feeling that the dolphins were being exploited in any way, even though theres obviously a lot of commercial emphasis put on the programmes offered for tourists.
There were seven participants in Amys group with one trainer, and Pax, the dolphin. The participants all stood on a platform in waist-high water near the jetty, and all the hangers-on (i.e. us!) were invited to stand on the jetty so that we could be as close as possible to the action. Pax arrived right on cue and the trainer then instructed everyone what to do when he came past. This varied from stroking his back, giving him a High 5 and taking gifts of seaweed from him, to letting him kiss them all on the cheek! The whole interaction lasted just over half an hour, but the trainer stayed behind afterwards to answer any questions and chat to the group.
Meanwhile, Rhian had gone to meet up with her group for the Hands on Training session. Well, it turned out that Rhian was the whole group all on her own no-one else had signed up for it! This was great for her as she had the undivided attention of the trainer and two dolphins, Tina and Tanner. This programme does not require (or allow) participants to get in the water at all, and Rhian and the trainer sat on the platform giving signals to the dolphins to ask them to perform tasks. This programme lasts an hour, but half of that is spent in a classroom set-up, learning about the ways in which dolphins are taught at the Centre.
At the end of Rhians session we spent a good while in the gift shop before being practically thrown out at closing time. Wed had a really great day here and Rhian and Amy had plenty of dolphin memories to treasure.
In the evening we went exploring to find Burdines Waterfront, the marina where Jeremy was to meet his fishing guide tomorrow. There were a couple of restaurants here, so we stayed to eat at the Chikki Tikki (it was much better than it sounds), listening to the live guitarist and watching the boats sailing in to harbour past the sunset. Ahh, this is the life! ... Unfortunately it was a bit cool and very windy this evening, so we didnt hang around on our verandah table as long as we would have liked, but drove back to the hotel to warm up. It spoils the image a bit, doesnt it?
Tomorrow, Jeremy has a fishing trip or two planned.
Cast
Me Hilary, 48. Beginning to suffer from planning overload, but looking forward to seeing some new-to-us parts of Florida.
DH Jeremy, 49. Looking forward to fishing opportunities in the Keys and on the coast, but could do without quite as long in Orlando.
DD1 Rhian , 19. Looking forward to forgetting university studies for two weeks anything else will be a bonus.
DD2 Amy, 15. Looking forward to first trip to IOA , Mission Space and the Hard Rock Hotel, but not looking forward to the prospect of being ill on the flights again.
Our accommodation at the Banana Bay resort included a free buffet breakfast. There was a good choice of fruit juices, coffee, cereals, bread and bagels plus do-it-yourself toaster, muffins, jams, fruits and hard-boiled eggs. Not sure about the eggs, but there was plenty to tide us over until lunchtime.
We had decided to visit the Dolphin Research Centre on Grassy Key today, but hadnt pre-booked any dolphin interaction programmes, and wondered whether wed be able to get in to see anything, as it was coming up to Easter and would undoubtedly be busy. Wed looked for information about the Centre before leaving the UK, but hadnt been able to make any firm plans because we didnt know when Jeremy would be able to book his fishing trip. The Centre was only about 20 minutes away from Banana Bay, so we set off early to get there for opening, to try and get on one of the non pre-bookable programmes. We neednt have worried there were plenty of spaces left on nearly all the programmes so, after much dithering and indecision, Amy was booked on the Dolphin Splash and Rhian opted for Hands on Training.
Both of these sessions were scheduled for the afternoon, so we had a quick look around and then went for a drive further down Highway 1. We crossed the Seven Mile Bridge, intending to continue further down the Keys, but decided wed seen enough and went straight back to Marathon! No sense of adventure, thats our trouble. We had lunch at the Seven Mile Grill which had been recommended in one of the guide books as having the best Key Lime Pie in the Keys. Well, it would have been rude not to try it, wouldnt it? It was very scrummy, but probably would have been much nicer if we hadnt also ordered a slice of Peanut Butter Pie. You can definitely have too much of a good thing sometimes! I was pleased neither of the girls had chosen dolphin interactions that involved swimming, as I didnt think they would have been at their most buoyant after that lot.
So, after lunch we returned to the Dolphin Research Centre for Amys Dolphin Splash. Although there are several enclosures where the interactions take place, we liked the fact that the fencing is very low and the dolphins could easily jump over it, and out to sea, if they wanted to. Its a very informal kind of place and I didnt ever get the feeling that the dolphins were being exploited in any way, even though theres obviously a lot of commercial emphasis put on the programmes offered for tourists.
There were seven participants in Amys group with one trainer, and Pax, the dolphin. The participants all stood on a platform in waist-high water near the jetty, and all the hangers-on (i.e. us!) were invited to stand on the jetty so that we could be as close as possible to the action. Pax arrived right on cue and the trainer then instructed everyone what to do when he came past. This varied from stroking his back, giving him a High 5 and taking gifts of seaweed from him, to letting him kiss them all on the cheek! The whole interaction lasted just over half an hour, but the trainer stayed behind afterwards to answer any questions and chat to the group.
Meanwhile, Rhian had gone to meet up with her group for the Hands on Training session. Well, it turned out that Rhian was the whole group all on her own no-one else had signed up for it! This was great for her as she had the undivided attention of the trainer and two dolphins, Tina and Tanner. This programme does not require (or allow) participants to get in the water at all, and Rhian and the trainer sat on the platform giving signals to the dolphins to ask them to perform tasks. This programme lasts an hour, but half of that is spent in a classroom set-up, learning about the ways in which dolphins are taught at the Centre.
At the end of Rhians session we spent a good while in the gift shop before being practically thrown out at closing time. Wed had a really great day here and Rhian and Amy had plenty of dolphin memories to treasure.
In the evening we went exploring to find Burdines Waterfront, the marina where Jeremy was to meet his fishing guide tomorrow. There were a couple of restaurants here, so we stayed to eat at the Chikki Tikki (it was much better than it sounds), listening to the live guitarist and watching the boats sailing in to harbour past the sunset. Ahh, this is the life! ... Unfortunately it was a bit cool and very windy this evening, so we didnt hang around on our verandah table as long as we would have liked, but drove back to the hotel to warm up. It spoils the image a bit, doesnt it?
Tomorrow, Jeremy has a fishing trip or two planned.
