We all know that dogs are man’s best friend; but who says you can’t have two best friends? I say dolphins should have a best friend place in our lives, too. Even though dolphins are not common pets, they still play an important role in the human world.

Did you know dolphins are in the military? Neither did I! Actually, they’ve been in our United Stated Navy since 1960. That’s nearly half a century! They have been trained to deliver equipment to underwater personnel & to find and return lost objects. Not only that, but they guard boats and submarines. But hopefully they just guard from intruding people; I’m pretty sure that a dolphin can’t win against an intruding missile or other boat…

Our Navy first began using dolphins when they decided to study the underwater sonar capabilities of dolphins so they could learn how to make better ways of detecting things underwater. They found out that they could learn how to increase the speed of their boats and submarines by researching dolphins on their ability to swim fast and dive deep.

And you wouldn’t believe this…they even do underwater surveillance! They just have to hold the camera in their mouth. Hopefully it doesn’t taste bad! Our dolphin friends have been used in the Cold War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and possibly others.

Dogs are also in the military and are extremely good at saving peoples lives. So… I guess we have two best friends after all: dogs, our land best friends, and dolphins, our marine best friends!

* image source: http://urlbrief.com/a60fb7

Not only do we love dolphins, but we like to make learning about dolphins fun! Here’s a great printable dolphin word search you can use at home, in your classroom, or in the car on the way to SeaWorld!

And in case you haven’t gotten enough, here are more cool dolphin facts!

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Anytime dolphins are spoken of, these babies are sure to come to mind. Quickies:

• They prey on mainly small fish and squid.
• They can travel at speeds of 18 miles an hour.
• They can make up to 1,000 clicking sounds per second! That’s insane!
• That blowhole of theirs is their nose.

COMMERSON’S DOLPHIN
This is probably not a picture that comes to your mind when you think ‘dolphin’. Quickies:

• These poor guys are hunted for crab bait.
• They have harlequin-shaped markings on their body.
• They’re only found on the southern tip of South America and an island off Africa.
• Live in groups of 1-3, but large schools are occasionally formed.

SPINNER DOLPHIN
Not the most famous dolphin out there, but a beautiful one. Quickies:

• They reside in tropical pelagic oceans all over the world.
• They are 1.7-2m long.
• It is unknown of their conservation status.
• They can be seen in schools from 5 to 200. But schools of 1,000 have been reported.

 
DUSKY DOLPHIN
And save the best for last, the Dusky Dolphin. I’m not sure why I love this over the others, but I do. Quickies:

• They inhabit the coastal regions below the Tropic of Capricorn all the way to the sub-Arctic.
• They have an all white belly.
• Schools of them can range from 20 to 300.
• They are a very acrobatic species.

(Photos are from Flickr and are CC licensed for commercial use with attribution)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28228039@N02/2634114641/
http://flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/3186464038/
http://flickr.com/photos/r_mushet/2915415087/
http://flickr.com/photos/nikonvscanon/2427517405/

Recently, my five year old son Alex and I got the opportunity to go to Sea World, Orlando. This was his very first time, and I think my parents may have taken me when I was about his age. I couldn’t wait to experience the fun through my son’s eyes.

Alexzander loves science.. how things grow, why things work, and sea creatures are extremely interesting to him. He had a billion and one questions for me at every turn, and thankfully the employees at Sea World were able to help me explain what and why on more than one occasion. The one thing that we wanted to do- aside from seeing Shamu- was to feed the dolphins. Living in Florida, occasionally we are blessed with the experience of seeing wild dolphins as we cross the bridges in the Tampa Bay area, and once we even went on a ‘dolphin encounter’ type boat, but never, ever did we have the experience that we had at Sea World.

We lined up with our receipt for our tray of fish, and right away Alex started asking questions.. “Why do they have a hole on the top of their heads?” “Why does the lady on the microphone call their heads ‘melons’?” “Can I touch it?” “Will it bite me?” “Does a dolphin have teeth?” After I answered him as best as I could, it was our turn to head to the feeding area. The staff explained all the rules to us, and to watch out for the pesky seagulls. The Sea World associates filled our order of fish, and Alex looked at me wide eyed and said, “Wait, I need to touch a fish?!”

Feeding the dolphins was undeniably the coolest thing I have ever done. These majestic creatures came right up to the edges of the habitat they were in, and looked at us with these giant smiles and round black eyes. My son and I touched under their mouths as they came right up and ate fish from our hands. Alex got to see that dolphins did indeed have teeth, and giggled about how they felt rubbery. One of them even came out of the water and laid across the ledge in front of us! It was amazing, watching the warm Florida sun glisten off their bodies! After the feeding time ended, the dolphins swam back to the deeper parts of the habitat, and several even bound into the air with excitement. It truly was amazing!

Our memories feeding the dolphins in Sea World, Orlando will be something that we’ll remember for a long time. In fact, I know I’ll never forget it.

My two children, Mikey (4) and Heather (6), thoroughly enjoyed the experience of meeting the dolphins at Sea World. Heather was not interested in touching the little fish at all, so she wanted nothing to do with actually feeding them, but she really liked petting the dolphins as they approached me for a tasty treat. My son, on the other hand, had no problems handling the fish and giving them to the dolphins. It was amazing how gentle these remarkable animals were as they took food from the children. The kids were also surprised how incredibly smooth their skin is and how much they seemed to take pleasure in being touched.

My Family

I got such joy out of seeing the delight in my children’s eyes as they had this memorable opportunity of being up close and personal with some of the world’s most incredible creatures. I know they really enjoyed it too because they have talked about it frequently since then and look forward to going again. They enjoyed everything about that day in the park, but the dolphin experience clearly stands out as a highlight of the day. I found out from Heather’s teacher the following week that she had shared the experience with her and some classmates upon asking the children what they did over the weekend. Her teacher indicated the excitement she gathered from Heather’s explanation of the event. They had a great time, and so did I!

If you have never been to SeaWorld before, or even if you are a veteran visitor, the Dolphin Cove in Key West at SeaWorld, Orlando. As a child (living in Ohio) I remember loading up in the car and making a day of going to SeaWorld. Yes there use to be a SeaWorld in Ohio! Now that I am a mom, and get the privilege of not only living in Florida, but being only a short car ride away from SeaWorld I am enjoying watching my boys experience SeaWorld’s magic.

It is always fun for a mom to watch her child’s eyes light up as a whale thrusts itself into the air, or they get to touch a shark for the very first time. Hands down though taking them to Dolphin Cove and watching their faces when they both get to feed, and touch a dolphin is just priceless. We visited SeaWorld as a family when the baby (turning two this April was just weeks old. So of course he remembers nothing, but we have the pictures to show him he was there. Our older son (about to be 11) was on a school trip, and had a great time seeing everything, and loved getting to touch the dolphins and interact with them. So since SeaWorld is so gracious, as to offer free admission once a year to all Military families, we try and go close to the baby’s birthday. What a great way to celebrate every year, and watch him as he grows and learns in such a rich environment.

Now as a mom, and especially as a mom of a child under the age of 2, I tend to never go anywhere alone. It just not happen, and I wouldn’t change that fact for amount of money. However, I was recently given the chance to meet up with fellow mom bloggers for the day at SeaWorld! The best part, I mean besides grown up talk, was it was FREE! We were invited to bring 1 child or come alone,  since I don’t like to play favorites, and we have plans to go in April, I went just as a mommy. The boys enjoyed a day of daddy time at home, and everything that comes with that.

We met around 9ish at the front gates, and gathered into our group for the day of fun. Thanks to Ted from IZEA and Wendy Piersall (@eMom on Twitter) we had a fabulous time, enjoying the best SeaWorld had to offer with fantastic weather too. We saw the shark encounter, watch Shamu amaze us all, and were wide eyed as high flying performers and birds skimmed the water’s surface as dolphins and whales launched themselves into the air.

This is on the must do list this year for our April trip. It will be the baby’s first time, and I just he is going to love it. It is for the young and older alike. No need to worry about if your kids will get to see one up close, or not. Trust me when I say, they want your attention, and are very willing to say hello in their own way, just so long as you reward them with some tasty fish in the end.

The staff is first rate, they take pride in what they do, and making sure YOU have a great experience that is safe and fun for you and the dolphins. Listen to them as you enter the feeding area when it is your turn. Follow their directions, and you will come away with amazing photos, and memories to last a life time.

The learning and fun don’t end there though, make sure you follow the upper path, and read all of the interactive learning stations. Once you have done that, I highly recommend you wonder around the opposite side and go watch the dolphins zoom by underwater! Yes, you can actually stand on the other side of a glass wall, and see them diving to the bottom of the cove and go swimming by one by one or in groups as they play. This is another great place for a photo opt. Let the kids get up close, while you hang back and get some amazing pictures of them memorized by what is in front of them.

If given half a chance I would so bring one home with me, think the dogs would mind the constant splashing? My guess is hubby would mind sharing his sushi though, so we will just make the trip more often, so I can I mean so the kids can enjoy feeding the dolphins at Dolphin Cove. This in the top three MUST do things for anyone visiting SeaWorld, right up there with Believe (the Shamu show), and our family favorite The Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island show.

Come and stay for awhile, and leave with a lifetime of memories the whole family is sure to cherish. While you are here tell Shamu Military_Mom said Hey………..because you know he remembers me.

Check one off the Bucket List – Feed the Dolphins. Okay, actually it was “get close enough to touch a dolphin” but I got to do that too. It was part of the whole dolphin-feeding experience at SeaWorld Orlando.

But I’m only checking it off, not crossing it off – because I plan on doing it again and again. In fact, if the people at SeaWorld would let me, I think I could spend every day doing it. But I think they might need to let other people get a chance to do it too. And I think my family might miss me.

That is me in the red shirt and pony tail feeding the dolphins at SeaWorld

Ever since I was a kid watching Flipper save the day in re-runs, I’ve had a fascination with dolphins. But they’re kind of thin on the ground in Colorado where I’ve spent most of my life… so it was just kind of a “somewhere, someday” sort of desire.

Over the years, I’ve daydreamed about doing one of those “swim with dolphins” excursions that seem to be part of every Caribbean cruise. But spending a fortune just for that seems a bit outrageous for a parent’s budget. Someone should’ve told me sooner that I could just go to SeaWorld instead.

Who knew that doing so would find me standing next to dozens of equally enchanted strangers to have the experience of a lifetime? That I would willingly stick my hand in a container of stinky, dead fish and gleefully hold them out to a smiling, playful dolphin and giggle like a little girl when she took it? But I did. And it was so amazing that I won’t be letting my own little girl wait until she’s 42 to experience it for herself. I’ll be taking her soon and I suspect, often.

Next up? Discovery Cove. Who needs to pay for a cruise when we can swim with dolphins in beautiful, sunny Orlando?