Marine World....
Well that was fun. And wet. Very very VERY freakin' wet. *smile*
roswtr and I went today as part of our celebrating our anniversary. Rode some of the rides. (Medusa is a fantastic roller coaster.) Saw a couple of the shows.
We did the Killer Whale Show (okay, personally I try to think of them as Orca, but Killer Whale is the 'popular' term.) We sat in the front row and got the expected soaking, but it really wasn't that bad.
Then we headed directly over the dolphin show. I love dolphins. They are one of my all time favorite animals in the whole world. I love them for their strength and beauty. I am utterly fascinated by them for their obvious intelligence. Someday I want to take a vacation at one of those places where you can swim with dolphins and if I have my way "someday" won't be to far off.
I got us seats in front again and this time it paid off in spades. I was selected out of the audience to get to go and play with the dolphins!
One of the trainers pulled myself and one other person out of the crowd before the show started and took us aside. She gave us instructions on what to do, which largely consisted of "step in that tray over there when you come on to clean stuff off your shoes and then listen to the trainers. They'll tell you what to do."
This much I can handle.
"Oh, and be ready to sing a song."
WHAT????
Yeah, so we're going to have to sing a few lines of a song, any song we want, so that the dolphins can sing back. Ummmm, yikes. Sing? I can't sing anymore. Not like I used to. Now the best I can do is carry a tune in a bucket. In my car.
But damned if I'm going to let this stop me from playing with the dolphins, so while I sit on the side and wait for the show to start I'm running through songs in my head and trying to remember enough lyrics that I can put something together. I'm singing them to myself to make sure that I can hit the notes. Yeah, yeah, it's not Star Search or anything, but damn it if I'm going to go out there and look stupid. Okay, stupider since the whole point now is to slightly embarrass the humans.
You know what? I don't care! I'm playing with freakin' DOLPHINS!!!!
I suddenly realize that in my head and coming out of my mouth are the first few verses of "Red Barchetta" by Rush, and they sound pretty darn good, so I decide I'm going with that.
Show starts and we get to the point where myself and some young woman named "Bree" (or something sounding like that) are called out to the deck where the trainers and the DOLPHINS(!!!) are. Suddenly I couldn't care less that there are a couple hundred people on the other side of the pool staring at us. It just doesn't matter anymore. Why? Because I'm playing with dolphins!
So we start with the introduction and then I'm asked to sing. I'm thinking all the while that when I start singing the dolphin is supposed to start "singing" (read making noise) with me. Nope. I sing through the first full verse and the dolphin hasn't reacted at all! Oh, wait, I get it. The dolphins are going to sing after us because they can sing better than people. Ha. Ha. Ha..... wait! WHO THE FUCK CARES!!! I'M PLAYING WITH DOLPHINS!!!!
I vaguely get the impression that basically everything I'm doing on one side of the lead spokesperson the other audience member, Bree, is doing on the other side. But truth be told I can't recall hearing her sing. Not that I care at this point.
They hand me a long bamboo pole and tell me to hold above my head and out horizontally over the water. Why? The dolphins are going to play limbo. Limbo? How is it limbo when I'm holding the poll six feet above the water standing on the edge of 30 foot deep tank? It's not exactly a challenge to limbo under the.... what the fuck! I'm thinking way to hard here! It's playing with DOLPHINS!!!!!
So after limbo comes dancing. Yeah, dancing. Music is blaring loud and, well, not really clear, but definitely loud. No matter. The trainer who is giving me instructions (Jen I think), is saying "do what I do!" and dancing in circle, so I dance in a circle and there in the pool is my dolphin buddy dancing in a circle! We're dancing fools! And then Jen and I sort of rumba down towards one end and the dolphin comes with us. And then Jen say "wiggle your butt!"
What? Oh! The dolphin has come up on the little ledge and now if I wiggle my butt he's going to wiggle his tail. We're all wiggling our tails! Isn't that funny? WHO CARES!!! I'M PLAYING WITH A DOLPHIN!!!!
And now is the big finish. I see that everyone has focused on Bree over there and both dolphins are now there and, whoa!, she gets splashed. Not bad. But they both get her. And then both dolphins come over to me and Jen says "take a step down and stand on the ledge there. You're going to get wet."
Yeah, no problem lady. I can handle this.
And then I hear from lead spokesperson, "You know, they didn't really get Bree! Who wants to see Tim really get wet?"
Yeah, 200 or so people across the pool start screaming their fool heads off and I'm thinking "oh damn." They say "Tim you better close your eyes" but you know what? Tim can't resist the comic moment and instead makes a big show of taking off his glasses. Yeah, I'm a comic genius.
The next thing I know two dolphins are "standing on their heads" in the water and I am looking at two large, powerfully muscled tails getting ready to drench my ass. Not once, but twice.
Do you know how much water two dolphins who've been given free reign to go all out can throw on you? I do. They hit me so hard from the front that my *back* was drenched!!! That show was at 1:30 this afternoon. I got home at 6:00. My cloths are still wet. My leather wallet may not be salvageable.
You know what? I don't care. I. Played. With. Dolphins.
Afterward, we walked out of the show and sat in a sunny spot. Many people walked by to say variously obvious and inane things like "really got you wet!" Yeah, yeah. I noticed the water. But you know I just don't care. My usual snarky cynic is, for the moment, silent, allowing me to truly enjoy the moment of playing with dolphins.
But one guy did get my attention after the show. He and his family walked up to me, big grins on their faces and he shook my hand and said, "Red Barchetta. My son and I couldn't believe it. Great choice!"
HA! Now that's comedy!
For the rest of the day I saw a few smiling faces. People who recognized me from the show. I had apparently attained a certain amount of celebrity by allowing myself to be drenched by those dolphins. Hours later people marveled that I was still soaked. As for myself, it was starting to be a bit uncomfortable because of the water I just couldn't get out of my shoes.
But I didn't care really.
After all, I got to play with Dolphins.
roswtr and I went today as part of our celebrating our anniversary. Rode some of the rides. (Medusa is a fantastic roller coaster.) Saw a couple of the shows.
We did the Killer Whale Show (okay, personally I try to think of them as Orca, but Killer Whale is the 'popular' term.) We sat in the front row and got the expected soaking, but it really wasn't that bad.
Then we headed directly over the dolphin show. I love dolphins. They are one of my all time favorite animals in the whole world. I love them for their strength and beauty. I am utterly fascinated by them for their obvious intelligence. Someday I want to take a vacation at one of those places where you can swim with dolphins and if I have my way "someday" won't be to far off.
I got us seats in front again and this time it paid off in spades. I was selected out of the audience to get to go and play with the dolphins!
One of the trainers pulled myself and one other person out of the crowd before the show started and took us aside. She gave us instructions on what to do, which largely consisted of "step in that tray over there when you come on to clean stuff off your shoes and then listen to the trainers. They'll tell you what to do."
This much I can handle.
"Oh, and be ready to sing a song."
WHAT????
Yeah, so we're going to have to sing a few lines of a song, any song we want, so that the dolphins can sing back. Ummmm, yikes. Sing? I can't sing anymore. Not like I used to. Now the best I can do is carry a tune in a bucket. In my car.
But damned if I'm going to let this stop me from playing with the dolphins, so while I sit on the side and wait for the show to start I'm running through songs in my head and trying to remember enough lyrics that I can put something together. I'm singing them to myself to make sure that I can hit the notes. Yeah, yeah, it's not Star Search or anything, but damn it if I'm going to go out there and look stupid. Okay, stupider since the whole point now is to slightly embarrass the humans.
You know what? I don't care! I'm playing with freakin' DOLPHINS!!!!
I suddenly realize that in my head and coming out of my mouth are the first few verses of "Red Barchetta" by Rush, and they sound pretty darn good, so I decide I'm going with that.
Show starts and we get to the point where myself and some young woman named "Bree" (or something sounding like that) are called out to the deck where the trainers and the DOLPHINS(!!!) are. Suddenly I couldn't care less that there are a couple hundred people on the other side of the pool staring at us. It just doesn't matter anymore. Why? Because I'm playing with dolphins!
So we start with the introduction and then I'm asked to sing. I'm thinking all the while that when I start singing the dolphin is supposed to start "singing" (read making noise) with me. Nope. I sing through the first full verse and the dolphin hasn't reacted at all! Oh, wait, I get it. The dolphins are going to sing after us because they can sing better than people. Ha. Ha. Ha..... wait! WHO THE FUCK CARES!!! I'M PLAYING WITH DOLPHINS!!!!
I vaguely get the impression that basically everything I'm doing on one side of the lead spokesperson the other audience member, Bree, is doing on the other side. But truth be told I can't recall hearing her sing. Not that I care at this point.
They hand me a long bamboo pole and tell me to hold above my head and out horizontally over the water. Why? The dolphins are going to play limbo. Limbo? How is it limbo when I'm holding the poll six feet above the water standing on the edge of 30 foot deep tank? It's not exactly a challenge to limbo under the.... what the fuck! I'm thinking way to hard here! It's playing with DOLPHINS!!!!!
So after limbo comes dancing. Yeah, dancing. Music is blaring loud and, well, not really clear, but definitely loud. No matter. The trainer who is giving me instructions (Jen I think), is saying "do what I do!" and dancing in circle, so I dance in a circle and there in the pool is my dolphin buddy dancing in a circle! We're dancing fools! And then Jen and I sort of rumba down towards one end and the dolphin comes with us. And then Jen say "wiggle your butt!"
What? Oh! The dolphin has come up on the little ledge and now if I wiggle my butt he's going to wiggle his tail. We're all wiggling our tails! Isn't that funny? WHO CARES!!! I'M PLAYING WITH A DOLPHIN!!!!
And now is the big finish. I see that everyone has focused on Bree over there and both dolphins are now there and, whoa!, she gets splashed. Not bad. But they both get her. And then both dolphins come over to me and Jen says "take a step down and stand on the ledge there. You're going to get wet."
Yeah, no problem lady. I can handle this.
And then I hear from lead spokesperson, "You know, they didn't really get Bree! Who wants to see Tim really get wet?"
Yeah, 200 or so people across the pool start screaming their fool heads off and I'm thinking "oh damn." They say "Tim you better close your eyes" but you know what? Tim can't resist the comic moment and instead makes a big show of taking off his glasses. Yeah, I'm a comic genius.
The next thing I know two dolphins are "standing on their heads" in the water and I am looking at two large, powerfully muscled tails getting ready to drench my ass. Not once, but twice.
Do you know how much water two dolphins who've been given free reign to go all out can throw on you? I do. They hit me so hard from the front that my *back* was drenched!!! That show was at 1:30 this afternoon. I got home at 6:00. My cloths are still wet. My leather wallet may not be salvageable.
You know what? I don't care. I. Played. With. Dolphins.
Afterward, we walked out of the show and sat in a sunny spot. Many people walked by to say variously obvious and inane things like "really got you wet!" Yeah, yeah. I noticed the water. But you know I just don't care. My usual snarky cynic is, for the moment, silent, allowing me to truly enjoy the moment of playing with dolphins.
But one guy did get my attention after the show. He and his family walked up to me, big grins on their faces and he shook my hand and said, "Red Barchetta. My son and I couldn't believe it. Great choice!"
HA! Now that's comedy!
For the rest of the day I saw a few smiling faces. People who recognized me from the show. I had apparently attained a certain amount of celebrity by allowing myself to be drenched by those dolphins. Hours later people marveled that I was still soaked. As for myself, it was starting to be a bit uncomfortable because of the water I just couldn't get out of my shoes.
But I didn't care really.
After all, I got to play with Dolphins.