4th of July

 We went to the Miami Seaquarium on the 4th of July.  David really wanted to get splashed by dolphins, but we only got a little bit wet.  He didn't think that was much fun.  The next time we go we will know where to stand.  This group of six dolphins did a lot of jumping.  We were able to get pretty close to the edge of the pool.

 Miami Seaquarium was the set for the show Flipper, and Flipper still lives there.  He performs with a group of other dolphins.  They jumped over a rope held several feet above the water.

 They told us that Flipper holds the record for "Dolphin Limbo" and he jumped over the rope held much higher than the group jumped over.

 Other dolphin antics....

This is Lolita the Killer Whale.  They keep this pool around 55 degrees, much cooler than the pools for the Atlantic dolphins.  There was a section of this pool that they had Pacific dolphins in that also did tricks, but I did not get their picture.  They are a darker grey than the Atlantic dolphins.

Flamingos really do eat things out of the water with their heads upside down.  

The birds like the macaws and cockatoos were not caged.

 They had three manatees, which were rescues from the area.  They mostly get hit by boats.  I believe they said there are only about 4,500 of this species of manatee left.

A sea turtle.  When we went to the beach a few weeks ago there were several areas  marked off with stakes and rope labeled as sea turtle nests.

Tortoises.  David really liked watching these.  When we first came in the park an employee was letting people hold them and David got to touch it.

A view of downtown Miami from the south.  The Seaquarium is on an island just southeast of Miami.  It took us about thirty minutes to drive there - the traffic would have been much worse had it not been a holiday.  We still aren't crazy about living in such a heavily populated area, but we have adjusted pretty well by now.

 Someone from church made an open invitation for people to watch the fireworks from their front lawn.  It turned out to be three families plus a few others and we had a nice time.  David enjoyed running around with a boy about his age.  In the picture he is watching the "pre-show", fireworks going off in the sky by someone a block or two away.

When we got home we lit a few sparklers, which David very much enjoyed.  The 4th of July is one of David's favorite holidays.  He looks forward to the big fireworks (and our homemade caramel corn) all year long.