Mr. R, like most kids, has had a lovey since he was a baby. His, however, is a beluga whale named Bob that we bought in Japan. Mr. R loves his beluga whales (see other whale posts
here and
here). Last year we took the kids to SeaWorld so that Mr. R could get a kiss from a beluga whale. This year was the big year, the year he'd been waiting for. This year he was old enough to actually get in the water with a beluga whale!
Since I called dibs last year on chaperoning Mr. R's whale meet-and-greet, Hubby took Boo on another backstage tour and little Hiccup once again stayed home to enjoy some quality time with the grandparents.
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| Sporting his awesome wetsuit |
For Mr. R's meet-and-greet with a beluga whale he had to don a wetsuit and water shoes. After a brief orientation to cover the safety rules to protect both Mr. R and the whales, we headed out to the pools. Everyone that would be getting in the water hopped in and stood on a ledge in freezing cold water (hence the wetsuit). They first practiced giving the whale signals to have her swim around, splash and wave. Then they were allowed to meet the whale one-on-one. Mr. R was told to move nice and slow and to stay quiet. If the whale decided that she didn't like Mr. R, then his time with her was over. They wouldn't force the whale to interact or pose with him. Fortunately for Mr. R his whale seemed to like him quite a bit. She gave him a kiss and posed with him for a few minutes. By the time the 2 hour tour was over he was freezing but ecstatic!
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| All smiles |
Meanwhile, Hubby and Boo were having their own meet-and-greet with the dolphins. They did a backstage tour to the dolphin area and were able to practice giving the dolphins hand signals and posed with them. Hubby said the tour was very small so they were able to get lots of attention from the dolphins. I'm not sure who was happier, Hubby or Boo.
After a long day at Sea World it was time to take two tired, but extremely happy kids home. We probably won't make it back to Sea World next summer since we have no idea where we'll be living, so I'm glad we were able to fit in this trip. I'm sure it'll be one that will be well remembered.
