Oh I have a whale of a tale for you. Okay, dolphins aren't whales (actually dolphins ARE whales! they are part of the toothed-whale family!) But, Harriet might be a mermaid.
I really really wanted to write this immediately afterwards so that I wouldn't forget any cool details. Unfortunately, I am writing this two weeks later. Considering that my blog is 3 years behind, this is fantastic news. But considering that my short term memory is about 3 minutes, this is not good. (update, I wrote half of it, but didn't finish this until 6 months later! oh how I wish I could have done it when things were fresh on my mind.)
I have decided lately that I really miss my blog. The reason it has been left in the dust is mostly that I do not have time to record life right now. Life is so insanely busy and packed, I barely have time to live it and I'm lucky that smartphones make taking pictures on the spot easy, or I wouldn't have any of those either. I am so behind on EVERYTHING. Nothing in my house is remotely caught up. Why would I start with my blog? It's also "so 2005" to have a blog. No one blogs anymore. Everyone facebooks or instagrams or snapchats. I am a heavy facebook user because it is also very convenient and quick. Instagram isn't my favorite because it is very restrictive about pictures, captions, and volume of content. I am afraid I missed being part of the snapchat generation (and I'm not sad about that.) My kids don't use it either. Mostly, facebook accomplishes what my blog used to - it keeps me in touch with family and everyone can see what we are doing pretty quickly on a daily basis. I can also post to facebook from wherever we are and get it done from my phone, and I don't have to wait to find time to get home and write a novel about it on my computer. Not that every one wants to read my novels, but this is the part I miss! I miss having a true journal where I can just freely write without feeling like someone is going to judge my lengthy post or the contents. I really miss writing the details of life and remembering things beyond what I took pictures of. (However, I am so grateful for facebook because without it I would have nothing recorded for the last few years!)
I don't know that I will ever catch up on the missing years here on my blog. Doing so seems daunting and it's preventing me from sitting down and just starting where we are again. So then, even more time goes by as I wait to find time to catch up, and it has become a vicious spiral. I do really wish I had blogged about Paris. I think I will still blog about Paris sometime. So, forgive me for what is about to be a really scattered blog. Welcome to my life.
Back to my dolphin tale...
Harriet. Sweet Harriet. She has been OBSESSED with dolphins since she was little. Seeing that Disneyland photo of her (in my last post) in front of the dolphin topiaries reminded me of her continual love and fascination with dolphins. I know I wrote some of this on facebook, but this is for the BLOG.
When Harriet was 8 years old, she asked me if she could swim with a dolphin. I knew that there were places in the world where you could do so, but I also knew that they are all in tropical locations where we would have to travel as a family and make a very expensive trip out of it. Not that it would be a bad thing to do that, but that kind of trip for one family member to live her dolphin dream seemed too far to reach. I started looking up places where we might go - a little closer to home.
There are lots of places (Sea World etc.) where you can go and PET a dolphin. We even went whale watching last summer and saw dozens of them swimming inches from us! But, getting in the water and swimming with them is a little more of a tall order. I discovered that The Mirage casino in Las Vegas does have a dolphin trainer program where you DO get to swim with dolphins and feed them and take care of them for a whole day! EXCEPT - you have to be 13 years old! She was only 8! Plus it was pretty expensive (nothing compared to a tropical family vacation, but very expensive for an 8 year old to go do for a day. Not exactly a zoo admission ticket.) Harriet was unfazed. She set the goal. She would do it when she turned 13 and she would start saving. As grandparents gave her money for birthdays and as she earned money baking cookies and wherever else she could, she started putting it in the bank. Slowly, she reached the dolphin amount in her account (well before her 13th birthday.) It was $550 for her to do the program and $150 for me to go with her (required to have a parent be there.) In the end, we were so proud of her for saving for so long and being so patient, we only made her pay half of the total - $350. (Daddy paid for the rest and gave her his Marriott points and paid for the plane tickets.)
As the years approached her 13th birthday, she developed a fear of being in the water. We had been at Martha's Vineyard a few summers ago and something pinched her toe when she was far out in the water. She was convinced it was a shark (it was a crab) and she and Grace swam to shore as fast as they could. They were both very freaked. She started being scared of lakes and even swimming pools - anywhere she couldn't see the bottom because she knew a shark would get her. Last year, she decided she would not swim with the dolphins. She would just go to Vegas and do the dolphin encounter where you get to pet one. She still wanted to go for her birthday so we waited for spring.
As her 13th birthday approached, I tried to convince her that she really should swim with them and do the full experience. She refused and I came "this" close to booking tickets to Vegas the weekend BEFORE her birthday. I mean I'm still not sure why I didn't book the tickets this one day when I was sitting at the computer. The plane tickets and hotel were extremely cheap compared to other weekends, but something stopped me from doing it. She came home that night and I had her sit down by me to go through the website one more time to be sure about our plans. I showed her the page for the dolphin trainer program and said "are you sure - don't you want to do THAT?!" A light came over her face when she realized she had almost given up on her dream! Immediately she changed her mind and said "YES! I want to swim with dolphins!" Thankfully, I had waited to book the plane tickets - you can pet a dolphin at any age, but you HAVE TO BE 13!!! to swim with them! I would have booked the tickets for a week before she was actually 13. What a close call. So, now we booked the tickets for THE DAY SHE TURNED 13.
We flew in the night before, on April 25th. We got to Vegas really late and the airport was a huge disaster. I really don't think I've ever been in an airport that busy before. We finally found an uber and headed to our quiet Marriott off the strip. I was so glad we decided to stay in a non-casino hotel. Those places are awesome, but they are so crazy. We snuggled up in our king bed and got some sleep for the big day.
Harriet woke up on her 13th birthday, totally dreamy-eyed. She couldn't believe we were actually there and actually doing it. Since we were an hour behind ABQ, her friends had already texted her "Happy Birthday" before they headed to school. She has had such a hard time with friends over the years. It was so nice that they all remembered her. I braided her hair, and she got ready and we went downstairs to eat her favorite Marriott potatoes for breakfast.
We climbed in an uber and headed for The Mirage. The traffic was so insane and the casino is so huge, it felt like we'd never get to the lobby. Then, we got there and the line for the concierge was super long too. We had left plenty early, but it was still nerve-wracking! FINALLY, we got our passes to head back to the dolphin pool. We were totally alone waiting at the gate. I wondered if we would have the place to ourselves. Nearly. There was one other girl (adult woman) from Texas who had booked the day as well. They only allow 4 people per day to do it.
As we walked back to the dolphin pools you could feel Harriet's anticipation melt into pure excitement and wonder. Our guide, Iris, was completely amazing. She was so knowledgable and nice. She knew everything about everything there, and gave us full explanations and history of everything we saw as we walked. She also took fantastic photos and a few of these are hers. She gave us a tour of the tanks and the trainer facility and dropped us off at a patio table right next to the dolphin tank where the 3 generations of grandma, mom, and baby were playing.
We ate breakfast (second breakfast - pink donuts, Harriet's favorite) with the dolphins! It was so perfect.
When Iris came back, she showed Harriet where to change into her full wetsuit. She was given a locker, complete with some toiletry gifts (some lotion that smelled really good), dolphin safe sunscreen, and her own Mirage dolphin trainer hat. She was on cloud 9!
Iris took Harriet out to the main female pod tank. The Mirage is really unique in that they don't use the dolphins for show, necessarily. The dolphins have been there since the casino opened. The guy who built it wanted dolphins in his living room (rich people can do stuff like that), so they created a ground level apartment for him where the dolphins could literally swim right into his living area. He, and the apartment, are long gone, but what remains is that the apartment has been remodeled into the training quarters and the dolphins have been there the whole time. These days the dolphins are only kept for conservation and education. There has been negative press about this place because I don't think the dolphins have always been cared for well. However, it seems that they are now (they are now the only captive marine facility in the western hemisphere to be certified by American Humane as of a couple years ago), and I don't know how you could do a better job of keeping them in the desert like this. Maybe they shouldn't be kept in the desert? But I gravitated to this sign they had there... it is so true and makes so much sense. Maybe we need these dolphins in the middle of the desert, where we can see them, so that we can be more motivated to protect them in the wild? It's definitely a tough call anytime you have wild animals in captivity, but I do appreciate the role that they play in education. And you don't have to purchase an expensive ticket to see them - you can visit the habitat for less than $20.
The trainers play with the dolphins multiple times a day for the sole purpose of earning their trust and relationship so that they can keep them healthy. Dolphins hide illness so that in the wild, they don't fall prey to other animals. You usually can't tell if a dolphin is sick unless you take blood and saliva samples daily, and sometimes multiple times daily. So, the trainers have built a solid relationship where the dolphins voluntarily come to play with them and swim up to them for their daily medical exams. The dolphins are never forced to do anything they don't want to do, so if you go visit these guys, you might see them doing something fun, and you might not. It's not like sea world, where there is a scheduled whale or dolphin show at a certain time. You just visit the dolphin area and you might happen to be there at the same time the dolphins choose to play with the trainers. Lucky for Harriet, we were there 8 hours, so she got to see and do EVERYTHING!
It was a 100 degree Vegas day, so that wetsuit got pretty hot when it wasn't wet. After hanging with the females, Iris suggested that we go to the male pod tank where there was shade. Harriet sat at a little closed-off canal, getting her feet wet and cooling off. I'm telling you, all the male dolphins in the tank made their way over to Harriet to see her. I feel like she attracts animals wherever she goes. She's always having little birds or crabs or lizards come up to her and she's pretty fast at interacting with them before they get scared. The dolphins didn't shy away from her. She could not have been more elated!
Now, this is where my memory fails me. I wish I could remember the order in which we did everything. At this point, I think Iris took us on a "behind-the-scenes" tour of the veterinary facility and dolphin kitchen where they keep their food. First off- it was incredibly clean and organized. These dolphins do not suffer for anything. She showed Harriet how carefully they choose the fish for the dolphins and how each one is on a different diet according to their size, age, and health. She showed us the medical pond where they do treatments if needed. It is also used for playing so that the dolphins will come in voluntarily. It's indoors and is the old pool that used to be in the apartment living room. Crazy cool stuff!
The tour of the veterinary facility was maybe my favorite thing. I mean I always wanted to be a vet and I used to be a vet tech, so I feel at home in places like that, but I had never been to a marine vet clinic. Their system for running samples from the dolphins and checking on their health was truly high tech and you could tell that the dolphins receive excellent care. There was also a very young red-headed Scottish woman working in the lab. She is an aquarist who takes care of the colossal aquarium in the Mirage lobby. She was running algal experiments and had dozens of 2 liter bottles full of algae that she was growing for the aquarium. She told us that her goal was to rid the aquarium of processed chemicals and get it to self filter and keep the chemistry level with the algae. She also told us how she had been breeding clownfish and was a little too successful. She had a hard time finding homes for the 10,000 plus fish she ended up with! Her ultimate goal is to learn how to breed endangered fish species and reintroduce them to the wild. SHE was wild. It was insanely cool to meet her and listen to her talk about her passion for marine life!
After this, I think we had our lunch break. We were allowed to order anything and everything off of the Mirage casino menu. The food was overwhelming and delicious and we were able to eat our lunch next to our favorite maternal dolphin tank. Harriet was dying over every detail!
After lunch we went back to playing in the dolphin tanks. Harriet went back to the males who are masters at showing off and interacting. She was able to swim with one of the dolphins by holding his dorsal fin and gliding across the pool with him. It was completely magical! Then, she also posed for a picture where I don't think she realized she was going to get massively splashed by a dolphin jumping right next to her. You can only imagine these things in storybooks, yet here was my Harriet, living out a complete dream! Every minute of the whole day I was just so incredibly happy for her and so very glad that we made it happen!
The females were very fun with quirky personalities. They did lots of jumps and fun things with the trainers.
You can see the joy on Harriet's face, even from a side glimpse. I have never seen her this happy or happy for this long.
This guy was funny. His name is Lightning and he's the oldest dolphin there, and he would just hang out like this, relaxing while the others rough housed with each other.
Now, this is where my memory fails me. I wish I could remember the order in which we did everything. At this point, I think Iris took us on a "behind-the-scenes" tour of the veterinary facility and dolphin kitchen where they keep their food. First off- it was incredibly clean and organized. These dolphins do not suffer for anything. She showed Harriet how carefully they choose the fish for the dolphins and how each one is on a different diet according to their size, age, and health. She showed us the medical pond where they do treatments if needed. It is also used for playing so that the dolphins will come in voluntarily. It's indoors and is the old pool that used to be in the apartment living room. Crazy cool stuff!
The tour of the veterinary facility was maybe my favorite thing. I mean I always wanted to be a vet and I used to be a vet tech, so I feel at home in places like that, but I had never been to a marine vet clinic. Their system for running samples from the dolphins and checking on their health was truly high tech and you could tell that the dolphins receive excellent care. There was also a very young red-headed Scottish woman working in the lab. She is an aquarist who takes care of the colossal aquarium in the Mirage lobby. She was running algal experiments and had dozens of 2 liter bottles full of algae that she was growing for the aquarium. She told us that her goal was to rid the aquarium of processed chemicals and get it to self filter and keep the chemistry level with the algae. She also told us how she had been breeding clownfish and was a little too successful. She had a hard time finding homes for the 10,000 plus fish she ended up with! Her ultimate goal is to learn how to breed endangered fish species and reintroduce them to the wild. SHE was wild. It was insanely cool to meet her and listen to her talk about her passion for marine life!
After this, I think we had our lunch break. We were allowed to order anything and everything off of the Mirage casino menu. The food was overwhelming and delicious and we were able to eat our lunch next to our favorite maternal dolphin tank. Harriet was dying over every detail!
As her chaperone, I also got to get in the tank at this point and pet one of the dolphins and have my picture taken with another one. I have to admit, Harriet definitely chose an incredible animal for her favorite.
After this, we went underground to view the birthing tank. The males were actually playing in it at that point, but they have this state-of-the-art observation room where they have full view of the tank and can monitor the female who is about to give birth, then they have direct access to her if she needs help.
When we came back up, they were doing some work with the males, so Harriet got to get back in and rub their bellies and pet them some more!
We finished the day with the female pod again. They were having some blood drawn and also doing a lot of playing.
Harriet with all of the trainers. She was thrilled to be one of them!
After our time with Iris and the trainers was over (so sad!), Harriet went back to the trainers' quarters to the her wet suit off and shower. We had a VERY hard time leaving and the habitat was still open for another hour, so we stayed until it closed, just watching the dolphins, and we also headed next door to visit Siegfried and Roy's white tigers and lions. Harriet sat and ate ice cream near the dolphin tanks and talked and talked about the day and the smiles were just never-ending. I have never been so happy for her. Then, I've almost never been quite as sad as I was to tell her that it was time to go. Wow, what a hard place to leave and know you won't be back anytime soon. She felt like she knew each dolphin well and they were her new friends and now she wouldn't be seeing them again for a long time. Just so I don't forget, here are all the dolphin names: Females: Duchess (grandma), Huf-n-puf, Sofi (mom), Bella, Coco, Karli (calf). Males: Lightning, Miramar, Maverick, Osborne, K2. I just read that since we were there, Bella had a calf, and Lightning and Miramar have been transferred to a different dolphin habitat. (glad we got to meet them)
The Mirage habitat is truly an oasis in Vegas. You would never know that outside the walls were millions of crazy people doing even crazier things. Going back outside was overwhelming. It was getting to be Friday evening and wow, a lot was going on! We ubered back to the Marriott to change for dinner, and after much debate, decided on a cool Mexican restaurant at our end of the strip. It was STILL Harriet's 13th birthday after all, so we needed birthday dinner!
We ate outside on this fun little patio and then decided to uber into the big casino area to see the Bellagio fountains and walk through Caesar's Palace. She had never been to Vegas before, so I thought she should see some of the main things.
At El Segundo Sol
Someday, she wants to see the real thing ;)
How could she resist this H&M shop at the Caesar's forum?!
It was getting quite late after we had a very hard time finding our way through Caesar's and back outside - it's quite a maze in there! We realized she never had birthday dessert. And we were getting hungry again. We searched all through Caesar's for a fun place to find a treat and were surprised that there wasn't much. So we gingerly headed outside into the massive crowds to see what we could find. We ended up across the street at the LINQ Hotel Experience where they have an outdoor mall, and near the end... is... a Ghirardelli chocolate shop designed to look like the one in San Francisco! (Man, everything in Vegas is a copy!) Harriet was SO exhausted from walking and she didn't have great walking shoes on to go with that outfit, but when she saw Ghirardelli, all was well in the world again. She got a giant sundae and her 13th birthday was complete! I admit, I had a huge feeling of relief as well that nothing got in the way of her perfect day. So much could have gone wrong to mess it up, but nothing did. I am so grateful that she could have this day after what had been a pretty rough year for her at school and in other ways. Yes, we spoiled her a bit in doing this, but she also earned a lot of it herself and the experience was absolutely priceless for both of us. I would spend every single penny to do it again for her. She has nothing but gratitude for it. Love you, my dolphin trainer!
