Last Full Day in Kissimmee

Today started out a little iffy. I can’t really go into it here because it’s very personal, but suffice it to say that Bob and I had a misunderstanding earlier this morning and had to work through that before we could get a jump on the day. That wasn’t very fun, but it was a good reminder to keep working on the communication stuff. After the misunderstanding, we ended up sleeping some more. We had intended on getting up early in order to go back to Sea World. When we originally went on Monday, we were told we could come back as much as we wanted any time in the next six days. Since we really didn’t have anything planned for today, we decided to go back to Sea World.

Due to the misunderstanding and the extra sleeping, we got a late start. We didn’t get to Sea World until almost 2. The park closes at 6 this time of year so that gave us a good 4 hours to hang out.

We had another misunderstanding right inside the main gate. We wanted to use the courtesy wheelchairs as Bob found them to be more comfortable than his own manual chair. We had JUST gotten past the flamingos when we were told we couldn’t use the chair beyond that point. If we wanted a chair, we would have to shell out some money to rent one or rent a scooter. Bob was PISSED to the point that he was embarrassing me with his reaction to this bit of news. At one point, I just left him at the guest relations window so he could vent. They ended up just giving him a form to fill out and send in. We went back to the Cruiser to get our own chair and in the long run, everything went fine.

Once we were back inside the park, we had a good time. Today was much warmer than previous days, but it was cloudy and it rained/sprinkled a little bit. It didn’t rain enough to mar the day at all though.

We saw all the stuff we saw before…the sting rays, the dolphins, the manatees, and the seals. I took more photos and ended up with some nice shots, if I do say so myself. When we were in the area where you can view the dolphins swimming under water, we saw the coolest thing. One of the dolphins would go to the surface and then would come back under and blow air through its blow hole, forming a ring. It looked like a smoke ring a cigarette smoker might blow. Then they would play with that ring, either by nosing it, biting it in two, or swimming through it. It was the coolest thing.

We also saw some dolphin lovin’. A male dolphin was “hitting” on a female dolphin and was...um noticeably excited. Unfortunately, there were lots of little kids watching the action as well. Nothing like giving young children a lesson in the birds and the bees first hand.

We spent a long time by the seals, watching them play, fight, and eat. One of the seals was blind from cataracts but he knew when people were there with fishes for feeding. He would bob up in the water and slap himself or the water to get attention. It was the cutest thing. The Sea World employee said that most of the seals there outlived their natural life expectancy because they were so well cared for. She said in the wild, the blind one would not have survived very long because he would not be able to get himself enough food or he would be eaten by predators.

We also stayed in the manatee area for a good long time. Bob has a particular fondness for manatees. Sea World rescues many manatees that would otherwise die from boating or fishing accidents. They look like a combination of seals, walruses, and beavers.

We also got to see the dolphin and whale show that we missed on Monday. It was amazing. They had a dozen dolphins, faux killer whales, tropical birds of every kind, and aerial performers. It was really a sight to see. I am glad we got a seat this time.

Truthfully, going to the park after noon seemed to be a good idea all around. It seemed less crowded and we were able to amble about with little to no trouble. We also were able to stop and see the things we wanted to see without people walking, standing, or moving in front of Bob. It was a nice change from when we were there Monday. Although, Monday might have been so busy because it was MLK Jr. Day and schools were off.

After we left the park, we went to dinner at a local buffet. Bob likes Buffets. I’m not a big fan. Never have been and am even less so since my gastric bypass surgery. But it ended up being an OK meal. I was crazy impressed with the steak I got. After dinner, we came back to our villa. Today is our last full day in Kissimmee so I ran around the villa picking up and packing up stuff so we wouldn’t forget it when we check out tomorrow. I am also finishing up some laundry before we go. Bob fell asleep on the couch early on, so I sent him upstairs to bed while I finished this entry.

Tomorrow we head for Daytona for the last few days of our trip. It’s supposed to be sunny and 80. I can’t wait. Our hotel room is supposed to feature a full size Jacuzzi in room and an ocean side view. I can’t wait. I don’t know what the internet access will be like there, so I may not be able to post for a few days.

As always, check my Flickr badge for the latest in vacation photos.