Clearwater Marine Aquarium

A friend at Shawn’s workplace told Shawn he needed to check out the Clearwater Marine Aquarium while we were in Florida. At the time, the movie theaters were showing the movie a Dolphin’s Tale. The dolphin Winter, whom the movie was about and who also starred in the movie, was staying at the aquarium. We thought the kids would enjoy seeing her. The dolphin was rescued and taken to the aquarium after its tail got caught in a crab trap. The tail was so damaged that it fell off, and the first prosthetic tail ever made was put on Winter. Cody, Anna, and Dylan got the chance while there to hold Winter’s prosthetic tail. It was a pretty neat experience, and after meeting Winter we went to a theater nearby and watched the movie. I had to leave the movie early and go out into the lobby because Abigail was being noisy, but as Cody came out and told me about the movie he got tears in his eyes. He said it was just so sad for Winter, but then it got happy. I guess the movie really spoke to him. Something that spoke to me while at the aquarium were the children with prosthetics that were lined up to see Winter, and the video afterwards that showed how Winter was impacting children’s lives. That left a lump in my throat. I have posted a photo below of Winter in the water. Be sure to check it out. She is not wearing her prosthetic at the time. Anna and I also braved touching a sting ray for the first time. It was a cinch for Cody and Shawn, but Anna and I had to talk ourselves into it. We were determined to not leave there before touching one. Also, I couldn’t resist putting a couple of photos up from Frenchy’s, the restaurant we ate at after going to the aquarium. It has live video feed, so I stepped outside(because of the noise) to call my mom and dad to tune in. However, I forgot one important word in the web address on my way out and mistakenly took my mom to some inappropriate web sight. I just remember her telling me, “Uh, Teri, this is NOT it!” Oops! By the way, Dylan was thrilled we got to ride the Jolly Trolley to the aquarium. Every time he saw one go by he asked if he could ride. At the trolley stop there was this beautiful mural that I snapped pictures of the kids by since we had to wait and all. It just said “happy” I thought!