Discovery Cove!

September 2nd

 

 

After a very long day at Sea World, we were ready for our relaxing day at Discovery Cove. This was something Gabriel has been waiting for for years, and we started planning this trip in April. By the time the weekend came, I think we were all super excited! Our day began with an early check-in, where we found out our dolphin swim would be at 9:30. This gave us time to get our locker, put on our gear, and enjoy a wonderful breakfast buffet!

 

Although we paid a pretty penny to get in, Nathan and I like to think the park didn't make that much money off of us since we ate a ton throughout the day! Between the breakfast and lunch buffets and unlimited snacks and drinks, we were very happy and full! It was honestly so cool to be able to walk up to a snack stand and just grab a hot pretzel, frozen lemonade, ice cream sandwich, beer, or whatever we wanted! We all took advantage of the snacks and stopped about every time we passed a stand.

 

Our dolphin swim was amazing...and freezing! The water was about 68 degrees or so and by the end of it, Gabriel's lips and fingers were literally turning blue. We had a wonderful trainer who made the experience fun and memorable. Our dolphin's name was Dexter, and he was very playful. We all had the chance to pet him, shake his flipper, give him hugs and kisses, and of course ride him back to shore. It was a once in a lifetime experience and something that I'm so glad we got to experience with Gabriel. He has dreamed of this since he was about four, and it finally became a reality.

 

Gabriel was so excited to finally be at Discovery Cove!

Gabriel kissing on Dexter.

 

The Grand Reef where we swam with the rays and tropical fish.

This water was pretty cold too at about 72 degrees or so.