The Ogden Family: June 2010

Ken took us to Sarasota, FL. with him for work. We were there for 10 days. The kids have always wanted to go to Sea World. Caroline is fascinated with Orca whales! She draws them, watches Free Willy 1-4, looks on-line and tries to find every book she can at the library. So when Ken found out that we were going to be 2 hours away from Orlando, he made some calls. We got 4 tickets FREE!! We decided not to tell the kids. They were very unhappy waking up at 6:00am and not knowing why! We told them we were going on an adventure! They quickly told us that we were the meanest parents EVER and could not stand that we would not tell them! That attitude quickly changed when we were getting off of the exit! God blessed us with a very small crowd...it was very hot though. We got in the Splash Zone at each show.

This is Tilikum. It is the whale that killed it's trainer. He is kept in the tank for underwater viewing. They said he is still loved and part of the family. This whale is huge!

Caroline had just spotted Tilikum in the tank! She was so excited!

This was from the show Believe. They had 6 whales performing. I was in awe at how these huge beautiful creatures have learned signs and are able to communicate with their trainers. You really could see and feel the bond they all have with each other!

Hello!!!

They were so excited!

As we were entering the stadium, all of the whales were swimming around. Caroline lost her breath when she first saw them. I think this is when she realized they are real! It was so special to see her reaction. As I watched the show I flashed forward to Caroline in a Orca colored wet suit!

This was the dolphin show.

Caroline has always asked me what a dolphin or whale feels like. She has a plastic whale that she plays. I always told her it probably feels like that when it is wet. Well, Sea World has an area that you can go and feed the dolphins. It cost $7.00 a person for your fish!
It is the first thing we did! They did feel like wet plastic! I will tell you, these were the fattest and happiest dolphins I have seen!

This is Caroline. You had to hold the fish down low or the birds would swoop down and get it! We were told to rub their chins and then give them the fish.