J'ai aussi en ma possession une magnifique vidéo d'un gosse de même pas 10 ans qui danse la Tecktonik devant les orques, c'est assez magnifique à voir mais très collector !

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[posted by Mikee]- We went to Niagara Falls and Marineland this past weekend.  We saw the falls.  It looked nice and pretty.  We then went to Marineland and saw the walruses inside the Aquarium building.  They were cute when they were playing.  Mommy took pictures of the walruses.  After that we went to some rides.  We rode on the Ferris Wheel, then the Space Avenger, and then we rode on the Orca Screamer.

After that we went to the King Waldorf Stadium where shows are held.  We went to the show at 1:00.  We saw the dolphins swimming around the water.  We sat on bleachers and we watched the show . There were sealions and some swimmers playing with the sealions.  It was cute!  We also saw some dolphins with the swimmers.  They mustve really practiced hard, also the animals. The audience really enjoyed the show.  My mommy took a lot of pictures of the show.  My mommy had never seen dolphins or sealions IN HER LIFE BEFORE!!!!  This is her very first time to see those animals for real.  There were some seagulls flying around the stage too.  When the show was over people were looking at the dolphins.

We were at the Friendship Cove with all the killer whales.  We were looking underwater.  My mommy took MILLION THOUSAND OF PICTURES OF THE KILLER WHALES!!!!!!!! She thinks they're gorgeous.  We then went to the Arctic Cove where the Beluga whales are held for people to see.  They are pretty cute.  They are all white except for one whale that is not white, it is grayish.  The gray whale is the one that is the youngest one in the family.  If the beluga whale is white then it's probably a grown up.  The Marineland workers were feeding the whales with raw fish.  Now this is probably the fish you aren't looking for or eating but I guess the beluga whales can handle eating the yucky raw fish.  I got to pet and feed the whales.  A man poured soap on my hands because the beluga whales can't handle hands that are dirty because they get  sick.  Then a woman was talking to me and I was talking to her while I was feeding the whales and petting them.  It felt just like petting the stingrays at the Toronto Zoo except it felt softer and more slimy petting the beluga.  I threw the fish right into the whale's mouth.  It looked swollen inside the Beluga's mouth.  We went to look underwater after feeding the whales.

Next we went to the thrill rides like hmm...the Flying Dragon that spins counterclockwise and clockwise direction.  Then I went to the Wave Swinger that is like the Swing of Century at Wonderland.  We both rode on the  Sky Hawk near the Wave Swinger and the Flying Dragon area.  We went spinning  then after spinning it went up slowly while it is still spinning.  My mom was scared cause she thought it would go down fast but no, it proceeded to go down slowly.  We got off and went through a bridge and we saw fish in the water hehe.  I saw little bugs on the bridge handle ehhhhh!!!!!  Then we rode on this roller coaster that I was a little scared of, the Dragon Mountain coaster.  I saw some kids going on it so I think it isn't really that bad.  We rode on it and it went upside down!!!!!LOL!!!!  and it was making me move a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After that we saw buffaloes and deer near the Topple Tower Ride then I saw a truck passed by and on the truck is some food for the animals.  We then went back to Niagara Falls and took the Niagara Transit to Wendy's.  We ate a lot!! After that we went to the Sky Wheel. Me and my mom think it's new!  It was a tall ferris wheel.  We took pictures of the beautiful FALLS!!!!!  And such a pretty sunset!!!  I looked down and  ooooohhhhh it's too high to fall down!!!!  It was so beautiful.  We also saw some buildings in America from the Sky Wheel.  I really liked to look around.

I seem to have gotten into a circle of rare white animals in the past few days. Two days ago, it was white alligators at Alligator Farm Today we visited Marineland and spent the day watching dauphins and people play together. It is a toss up as to who had the most fun. Then we had the chance to see another unique pale creature.

Marineland is a truly unique place. It is possibly the only city in the country where the animals outnumber the people. It has a human population of eight and a dolphin population of 14. Then there is at least one well fed black and white cat. It is officially in Flagler County but at least a small part of the land is in Saint Johns County.

Since people are always drawn towards the rare and unusual in nature, when I had chance to see a one of a kind dolphin, I was thrilled. I was talking with one of the volunteers, Joan, when she mentioned Lilly Champagne, Marineland’s blond dolphin. When she offered to let us in the back area to see her, she didn’t have to ask twice.

Lilly shares a pool with Nellie, a celebrity in her own right. Lilly is a beautiful buff color. According to Marineland, she is the world’s only living blonde dolphin.

I found information about some light gray dolphins but no other blonde dolphin data. As for other light colored dolphins, Carolina Snowball was a popular albino bottlenose dolphin who lived at the Miami Seaquarium in the early 1960s. In the entire world, there have only been 14 recorded sightings of albino bottlenose dolphins. The first recorded sighting was in 1962.

According to National Oceanography and Atmospheric Administration there have only been two documented sightings of wild albino dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico area. One was seen Little Lake near New Orleans, Louisiana in the summer of 1994 It was observed for just a short time with a small dolphin group and never seen again. The second was a young calf seen with a large group of 40 or more dolphins just south of Galveston, Texas in September 2003. There has also been a reported sighting of an albino calf in June 2007, at Calcasieu Lake in southwestern Louisiana. This baby was pinkish and photographs of it circulated on the internet.

The chances that either young calf survived are not good. The survival rate for ordinary colored dolphins is only 17% for a first time mother, rising to 48% to 60% for second time mothers and only dolphins born to a third time mother stand an 80% chance of surviving. The lighter coloration of a blonde or albino would lessen its chances as it would stand out more in the water allowing it to be picked off by sharks or other predators.

Lilly has reached the ripe old age of 50 years. She has spent 45 of those years at Marineland which accounts for her survival. Her poolmate, Nellie reached an astonishing 55 years old. 20 to 30 years is the average lifespan of a wild dauphin. Although she no longer performs, Nellie is quite a celebrity. She had a track record many humans would be proud of. She was a television star and preformed in Timex commercials in the 1960s. She was awarded and honorary master’s degree from Jacksonville University. That honor was bestowed on Nellie at her birthday celebration on February 27, 2008 by Dr. Kerry Romesburg, the university president. Nellie was toasted with a round of “Happy Birthday to You” sung by the crowds that gathered to help her celebrate. Nellie took it all in stride and even squirted out the candles on her ice and fish birthday cake. Maybe when Nellie reaches her 60^th she will receive a doctorate. I guess then she will expect to be addressed by her trainers as “Dr. Nellie.”

Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy
On the 17th my dad and I went on a whale watching boat. We saw at least a dozen whales, most of whom were humpbacks. About six of them came right up to the boat. We also saw two fin whales. That was a wonderful sight to see, even if they were hundreds of yards away.

A humpback mother and calf had come up close at one point, and the mother dove under the boat. Meanwhile, the calf spyhopped right beside the back of the boat! My dad got it recorded on the digital camcorder, so I shall see if I can show everyone how awesome it was.

Marineland Niagara Falls
On the evening of the 20th and in the morning and afternoon of the 21st, I spent at Marineland. The entire time I watched the orcas. Kiska seems depressed. On Thursday during one of the splash sessions, she just circled the pool, not bothering to listen to her trainers. I think she misses Nootka 5 quite a bit.

Ikaika seems to be doing quite well. He's grown a lot since last year, and he eats at every chance he gets... and then he makes calls for his trainer when she goes to leave because he ate all the food. I would say his dorsal is going to be sprouting soon, even though he is not even in his teens yet. But maybe not... I honestly am not an expert on that.

Athena is bigger, but seems to be underweight and looks a little ill. When I watch her swim I can see her ribcage every once in a while. There's also some weird white patches in her skin down her back near the fluke. Plus the black around there is lighter than it should be.

Hopefully Kiska and Athena both get better soon. I would really hate for them to die, because the employees who work with them are really involved in their job. (You would not believe how dedicated they are.)

Ayer estuvimos en Marineland, lugar extraterrestre con ubicación terrícola. Un parque acuático en el que me sentí abducido, teletransportado a una galaxia paralela donde todo excedía en sus límites y donde me codeé con cientos, miles de humanos reconvertidos en extraterrestres al igual que yo, con tan solo traspasar la puerta de entrada y saludar a una poco simpática muchacha que ofertaba hacernos una foto con un loro al hombro cual John Silver de extrarradio.

 Los extraterrestres nos movíamos con total soltura, nos despojábamos del hábito y mostrábamos la piel que nos convertía en unidad, nos hermanaba y permitía aglutinar nuestras carnes como si de un solo ejemplar se tratase. El hombre del nuevo milenio, mimetizando nuestra desnudez con la de nuestros congéneres, eclipsando la vergüenza del dominguero en una masa atávica de cuerpos en flotación.

 Fue impresionante la cantidad de tatuajes que pude vislumbrar entre mis congéneres extraterrestres, apareciendo de sus espaldas quemadas, mientras pedían clemencia para poder ser hidratados, dibujos en la carne que mostraban un pasado confuso y un presente desorientado. Tatuajes de extrarradio, auténticos y trabajados con tinta de bolígrafo Bic y aguja de cosedora y que se mostraban como una seña de identidad más en nuestro periplo entre las piscinas, el olor a cloro y la fascinación por el chiringuito verbenero.

 Tras seis horas de trabajo de campo, de investigación exhaustiva entre la emulsión de agua y carne, observamos que habíamos encogido, y que ello era el origen de la mutación final, a la piel arrugada le seguirían otro tipo de modificaciones corporales. Decidimos recoger nuestras toallas y poner rumbo a casa, no sin antes mirar hacia atrás y comprobar como mis congéneres continuaban mutando mientras caía la tarde, a sabiendas que cuando salieran por la puerta en la que se postraba la muchacha del loro, ya nada sería igual, el cloro, el plástico y la aglutinación de cuerpos les habrán convertido en seres prodigiosos, superiores por el sólo hecho de haber sobrevivido a una abdución voluntaria.

 Yo, esta mañana al despertar, he empezado a notar los primeros cambios.

I want to try and recap a favorite moment from that day...  I mean, today I had a GREAT experience with my son that I hope to never forget and yet I sit here allowing myself to be drained and poopy.

So here is my favorite moment from today...

Franc and I took our 2.5 year old son to Marineland up the road where my son has formed his own special bonds with his friends the dolphins.  We booked him an interaction session for the first time.  This child was so in his element!  He dove right in to the cooler of dead fish and ice, learned and executed the commands for the dolphin, played ball, touched their fins and bellies and just lived it up!  He was elated. 

It was so awesome to watch him full of joy.  i got some great pics that I hope to post tomorrow!

¿Imaginas compartir tu jornada en Orlando con las especies de animales más exóticas? Exactamente esto podrás hacer en Gatorland, un parque temático en el que los cocodrilos y caimanes son las estrellas del lugar y que llevan criándose aquí desde 1948. Seguro que te resulta normal asociar Florida con estos animales ¿verdad? Pues aquí podrás comprobar por ti mismo como estos pueden llegar a convertirse en una verdadera y masiva atracción para los viajeros. Estos resultan realmente sorprendidos, especialmente los europeos, que no acostumbramos a ver este tipo de animales y menos en situaciones como se nos presentan en Gatorland.

Podrás admirar una enorme colección de cocodrilos y caimanes o incluso asistir a espectáculos en los que se pelean entre sí. El éxito del parque ha sido tal que se han incorporado otras especies de animales como víboras. Además podrás llevar a tus pequeños a la zona de juegos o adentraros juntos en el zoológico. Pero la diversión en Orlando no acaba aquí. Hay muchas más opciones.

Otra propuesta es acudir a Marineland, un hermoso oceanario ubicado cerca de St. Augustine. Este parque temático también gira en torno al mundo animal pero con el agua como protagonista. El oceanario tiene una capacidad de 1.703.435 litros y 5 metros de profundidad y se alimenta con agua del Atlántico. Será muy especial adentrarnos en el universo de la vida marina acompañados de las especies más entrañables. Como siempre suele ocurrir en este tipo de atracciones los delfines y las focas marinas son las estrellas indiscutibles reclamadas por cuantos turistas llegan hasta aquí.

Foto: 1blessedmom.

Well, I was wrong.  I did'nt make it to Marineland for my hour of peace, however, my lovely husband got up first thing the next morning...got the kids ready (I won't complain that their clothing was terribly matched!)...got out the hiking backpack and took a walk down to the beach!  I got to sleep in for what seemed to be an eternity!  Lovely! I crawled out of my dungeon and looked at the clock...11:00am!  Holy moly! It was awesome.

Thanks, babe.  That was so needed and I appreciate it.  You rock.

So I am trying to see the upside of things lately...I know this is stupid but where is the upside?Oh well, I could definately have far worse problems!

If you havent been... Marineland is awesome to get away and be at peace!  Awesome for kids to run around too.  Hopefully you can find me there first thing tomorrow morning!

we then went up the road to ft. matanzas where we road a ferry over to an island that the spanish had built a fort on in 1740 to protect them from boats coming in the inlet and sailing up to st. augustine where a huge fort is. the trip is free and the volunteer tour guides are dressed up and ready to give you a great history lesson on florida. we climbed up a small ladder to the roof where you could see for miles. today was all about time with the family creating memories that will last a lifetime. we left knowing these are the things our kids will remember when they have kids. if you are too busy to spend time with your family, then why did you start one? create some moments that will last! heres a few pics from our day!

what a day filled with moments!