Super Amazing Vacation of Awesomeness: Day 5

*lyrics hummed to "Hakuna Matata"*
"Discovery cove... What a wonderful phrase.
Discovery cove... ain't no passing place.
    It means no worries, for the rest of your day.
    It's the problem free, philosophy!
    Discovery cove!"

And no joke!  This place was like a paradise on Earth.  It's the place I think heaven is going to be a lot like.  It's the place where after you've paid to get it; everything else is free.  This includes all the food.... :D I don't think I've ever had that many ice-cream sandwiches in my life!  Speaking of eating, during breakfast we saw a few cannibalistic birds snacking on someone's leftovers. ;) (yes, that is a bird with eggs in its beak)
But back to paradise, here is the place where humans and animals alike could frolic with each other.  The three main places to go were the aviary, the dolphin swim, and the reef.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the reef.  That's primarily because it was all underwater and we were able to go snorkeling with all the fish and stingrays.  Don't worry!  I wasn't in any danger, as they had removed the stingers from the stingrays.  You can breathe easy now. ;)  However, some of those stingrays got HUGE!  And they would brush right next to you!  Pretty darn cool. :D  But also cool was when I saw a big group of silver fish that moved in perfect coordination.  Such as the fish in Finding Nemo that point out the way. ;)

The Aviary was way cool.  The moment you stepped inside, you were surrounded by all sorts of different birds, eagerly awaiting the bird food you were freely given.  The first bought of contact was when I was feeding a snipe looking creature and I suddenly felt something crash into me and talons dig into my shoulder.  Next thing I knew, this little guy was right next to my head begging for food!  Small and brightly colored, I was sure this species of bird was the friendliest there, until I walked into the adjacent aviary and found a bird called Captain Jack.  This old 10 year old grandma of a bird spends her days sleeping in people's hands.  There's a reason this lazy bird is fifteen grams heavier than any other bird of her species there. ;)  She was adorable though.  Easily the most precious bird there, we could have stayed for an indefinite amount of time holding her.  But the dolphins were waiting. :D

(adorable, no?)





The dolphins were cool.  Underwater intelligent marine mammals; how else could I describe them?  We were able to stand next to, pet, kiss, hug, and shortly ride the dolphin we were being introduced to.  Yes, we got to know that dolphin quite well. ;)









All in all?  A very fun, relaxing day. :D And a perfect break from all of those theme parks! ;)