Orlando

Boy, have I fallen behind!!  I have so much to catch up on.

Since Lee and I waited to hear the status of the shuttle launch, we stayed a few more days and decided to go to Orlando, something we hadn't planned to do originally.  So on Sunday, we headed for Sea World.  I don't want to bore people with vacation photos of Sea World, but in some ways it's hard to avoid.  The Orcas, for example, are so beautiful you just have to show the photos.  So I apologize for any boredom that might ensue.  You can scroll through them as quickly as you wish, I won't check up on you.

Not part of the act, but ever present, were two Great Egrets that waited on the sidelines for unclaimed fish.  One of them was not the least bit stage shy:

Sea World has an emphasis on letting visitors interact with the animals.  One unique program is one in which people can pay to work with trainers and Beluga whales for a day.  Three Belugas worked with trainers and trainers-in-training, trading off every fifteen minutes or so.  This area was all enclosed, and kept cold for the arctic animals (walruses, Polar bear, and Beluga whales). 

The trainer below is in the middle, flanked by those in training.  It must be thrilling! 

A wet kiss!

At the seals pool, visitors can buy fish to feed the seals.  Birds of all kinds have figured this out, and hang out waiting for fish the seals don't catch.  I know this was an unintended consequence, and I suspect the birds would be better off in the wild, in their own element.  I am not sure the birds would agree with me.

I enjoyed watching one seal, with flippers in the air and eyes closed, looking completely relaxed, slowly spinning around with the current:

Another seal, while swimming by, give this one a shove that made him spin a little faster - I swear he did it on purpose:

In St. Augustine, I saw a flock of Wood Storks off to the side of the road, on the bank of a retention pond.  Later I discovered they are a protected species in Florida.  I didn't see another Wood Stork until, wouldn't you know it, we arrived at Sea World, at the seals' pool.  There were two there.  Unfortunately, this one had has back to me, and it is my only photo.  Wood storks are the only stork found in the New World.  Their heads are featherless, and their beaks large and curved downward, not terribly attractive. 

I am going to continue this tomorrow.  Blogger is not being very friendly tonight, and it is getting late.  Besides which, Barney and Beanie are buzzing me, which means they wish to have some attention!