Day 3-Tampa Aquarium and Leafs Game

Glow in the dark Jelly Fish

Today we went to the Tampa Aquarium.  There were a bunch of animals there.  There were fish, penguins, turtles, lemurs, river otters, jelly fish, sea horses, sharks, snakes, birds, crabs and chameleons.  There was a fish almost as tall as me and as long as 7 desks beside each other!  There was one tank with 3 sharks.  There were all different kinds of fish that were different colours, shapes and sizes.  We saw many different kinds of sea horses.  Some of the sea horses looked like they were plants.  We saw a bunch of different sea stars (aka star fish).  I got to touch one.  They don’t feel very squishy.  You were not allowed to touch their toes because they stick on and if you pulled away it might pull of one of their toes.  I also touched a sea anemone.  It was soft and sticky and squishy.  It sticks to its prey, stings it and then eats it.  Clownfish (like Nemo) do not get stuck or stung by the anemone.

There were 6 different behind the scenes things you could do at the aquarium.  We did the Penguin Encounter.  We got to meet two different penguins.  We got to see one of them swim and we got to pet them.  The penguins were soft.  Did you know that if you put a quarter on any part of their body (other than their eyes) there were around 80-100 feathers in that space?  The penguins we saw were from Africa.  We got to meet their handler.  When you sat beside the penguins they would cuddle up beside you.  When they were excited they would flap their flippers fast.  They got excited when the trainer brought them out to us.  Sometimes the boys get jealous when another penguin gets to go out to meet people, but the girl penguins don’t get as jealous.

We also got a ton of autographs by the Leafs today.  I got my jersey signed.  My dad met a bunch of players before their morning skate.  We went back after their morning skate and got more autographs and some pictures taken with players.  We went to the game and I got 2 pucks-one from Phaneuf and one from Kozen.  They flipped the pucks over the boards during their warm up.  I gave the one from Kozen to another boy who didn’t get a puck from a player.  I kept the Phaneuf one because he is my favorite player.  The Leafs lost their game 4-2.

My Dad and I with Nazem Kadri

My picture with an African Penguin

Petting an African Penguin

Day 3-Busch Gardens

Today we went to Busch Gardens for the whole day.  Busch Gardens is an amusement park with animals.  The amusement park is kind of like the Animal Kingdom at Disney.  The park is divided into different areas.  There are 10 different sections which are called things like Pantopia, Jungala, and Congo.  There are lots of different animals that you can see.  There are also a bunch of roller coasters.  Most of the roller coasters are big.  We went on two roller coasters-the Scorpion and the Sand Serpent.  We went on the Sand Serpent twice!   We went on the Wild Surge which took you up and dropped you up and down a bunch of times.  We also went on a zip line.  We went on two water roller coasters-one was the Taganyika Tidal Wave and the other was the Stanley Falls flume.  There was also a climbing structure to explore.  They also have a train which goes around a lot of the park and lets you see some of the animals.  You can also take a sky ride over part of the park.  We went on both of them.

We saw a lot of different animals today.  There were tigers, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, bulls, kangaroos, flamingos, many different kinds of birds, lions, ostriches, hyenas, elephants, bald eagles, turtles, alligators, gorillas, orangutans, and cheetahs.  There was a tunnel where you could see a bunch of tigers.  There was one spot where you could climb up a ladder into a clear box and you were next to a tiger!  We saw the lions and hyenas being fed.  They eat big chunks of meat that the trainer threw to them.  The lions and hyenas would catch their food with their mouth or paws.    She called them by their names and sometimes would make them do something like sit or lie down before she threw the food.  We saw a hippo playing with two trainers.  They taught him how to “go” (from one trainer to the other), and how to “open” (his mouth).  I also got to feed the kangaroos.  They would come to the fence and you would put your bowl of vegetables in front of them and they would eat from it.  You could also pet the kangaroos if they came close enough.  I pet a couple of them.  They were friendly and they felt soft and fluffy like cotton balls.

After we were done at Busch Gardens we went back to the hotel and went swimming.

Day 2-Jay’s Game and Tampa

We woke up this morning, ate breakfast and left our first hotel.  We drove to the Jay’s game.  We got to see their batting practice, warm up and the game.  I got a practice ball and my dad caught a game ball.  Near where we were, players that left the game came over to give autographs.  Some of the really good players left the game early.  We left a bit early because we wanted to try to get more autographs when the players were leaving in their cars.  We knew where to go because we did the same thing the last time we went to a game here.  I got a bunch of signatures on a ball.  After the game we drove to our new hotel.  We went to the pool, which was extremely cold and then we went for dinner.

Day 1-Clearwater

This is Nicholas the dolphin

This is Hope. She came right up to look at us through an observation window in her tank!

After 21 hours of driving we finally got to Tampa and went out for breakfast.  Then we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  We saw Winter and Hope, the dolphins from the Dolphin Tale movie.  We also saw sea otters, sea turtles and pelicans.  There is also a new dolphin named Nicholas.  He has a burn on his back from a sunburn he got when he was a baby.  He was found on a beach with his mother.  Her name was Noelle.  They picked their names because they were found at Christmas.  All of the animals at this aquarium were brought there because they were hurt.  They always try to get them better and then release them.  Hope, Winter and Nicholas can’t be released because they wont survive in the wild.

After that we went to our hotel and then we went to the beach.  We went for a walk and I collected sea shells, sand dollars and some pieces of coral.

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Saturday was our last day in Florida.  In the morning, we went swimming in the pool at the hotel.  Saturday we also went to a Blue Jays game.  We were cheering for the Blue Jays (of course!).  We were watching from the standing area, which was right close to the fence.  The standing area is different because you are right up close to the field so you could see the players easily.   We didn’t stay for the whole game because someone told us that you could get autographs in the parking lot where the players go out.  We watched 7 innings and after we got a ball and a stuffie.  We met Colby Rasmus and 3 other players.  They signed my hat and ball.  Then we got in the car and started to drive home. 

Watching Winter

Today we moved to a different hotel and we went to see Winter (Winter is a dolphin).  We watched her swim.  The interesting thing about Winter is that she has a prosthetic tail.  That is a plastic tail.  Her tail came off because it got caught in a crab trap and her tail was bleeding so they had to take if off.  When they took it off, she was swimming with her tail side to side, but dophins are supposed to swim with their tail moving up and down.  They had to make a prosthetic tail for her.  It took 18 tries until they got one that worked.  We also saw different animals like sea turtles.  We saw one called Patrick.  The reason he was there was that he got a hook in his mouth.  We got to see behind the scenes to see how they helped him.  Then they had to release him.  I also got to touch a Stingray.  You can only touch his wings, not his tail or you might get stung. 

When we went to our hotel, I got to go swimming.

 

Tampa

Today we left our hotel at Disney.  We went to a new one in Tampa Bay.  When we got to the hotel, I saw the pool and wanted to go swimming but we couldn’t go swimming because the pool was too cold.  After that, we went to the Tampa Bay Lightning game.  They played the Winnipeg Jets.  We were cheering for the Winnipeg Jets because they are a Canadian team.  They won 2-1.  We sat in the 4^th row and I got a puck!  I got a puck because the Winnipeg Captain flipped it up to us when we were standing by the glass in the warm-up.

Back to the Magic Kingdom

Today was our last day at Disney and we went back to the Magic Kingdom.  First I went on It’s a Small world.  It was really fun because you sit on a boat and it goes through a thing where there are a bunch of dancers.  You watch them and they sing a song in different languages.  After that we went to  meet Ariel and then we went on Ariel’s ride.  You sit on a clam shell and it goes through what Ariels life was like.  I was scared of Urusla.  Then we went on a ride called Thunder Mountain.  It was a roller coaster and it was the last one I wanted to go on.  I have gone on all the rollercoasters except one.  I haven’t gone on Space Mountain because I am scared of it because it is in the dark.  We also went on the Magic Carpets.  There are two rows of seats.  The riders in the front row make the carpet go up and down and the riders in the back tilt the carpet forward or backward.  Next, we went on the Jungle Cruise.  On that ride, we went on a boat.  We went around and there were different kinds of plastic animals.  At one point there was a big temple that was dark inside.  The boat driver couldn’t drive through, she needed someone else to.  Instead of the driver, a little girl drove the boat.  The last thing we did in the afternoon was meet Cinderella and Rapunzel.  We also saw Sleeping Beauty, but I already had her autograph, so I just got a picture with her.  When we were done there we watched a parade and went to the Bibbiddi Bobbidi Boutique.  I got my hair and nails done.  I got a crown, a barret, a sash, a shirt and glitter in my hair.  Tonight we went back to the Magic Kingdom to watch Fireworks and see another parade.  This parade was all lights because it was dark out.

Animal Kingdom (and back to Epcot)

Today we went to the Animal Kingdom.  First we went to Asia and we went on some rides.  We were waiting to go on a rollercoaster called Everest and found some other rides to go on while we were waiting for our FastPass time.  Everest is a really tall mountain and there are big hills.  At first there are just tiny hills, but then there are big hills.  After a bit, the track was broken and we had to go backwards.  There was a shadow of an abominable.  The tracks went another way after that and there were lots of big steep hills.  Someone made a grass bird for me.  Then we went to Africa.  We went on a ride where we got to see a bunch of animals.  My favorite was the flamingos but we also saw things like giraffes, a lion, alligators, hippos and ostriches.  In one part, the truck we were in almost went over an edge and rolled over and we all had to lean over to the right.  We went to a 3D show called “It’s Tough to Be a Bug”.  There were some funny parts and some scary parts.  Different bugs presented different things.  At the end, they said to please stay seated so all bugs could get out safely.  All the bugs went out and it felt like they were running under our seats-you could feel them moving.

Afterwards, we came back to our hotel and went swimming.

For dinner tonight, we went to Corral.  That is a restaurant where an aquarium is around you and you can look at fish while you are eating.

Hollywood Studios (and a bit more Epcot)

Today we visited Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  This morning we went to Hollywood Studios.  We saw a 3D Muppet show.  It was funny.  There were a lot of interruptions from muppet characters.  We also went on a Star Wars ride.  It was like being on an actual Star Wars ship.  It was funny because at the start there was a guy who was the captain, but C3PO took over from him.  We also went on the Rockin’ Rollercoaster.  I went upside down a couple times and it was dark inside.  The signs glowed.  We watched a parade and then went swimming at our hotel.  There were two big slides at the pool.  We went back to Epcot for dinner.   Before dinner we went back to Journey into Imagination again because I liked it so much yesterday.  For dinner we went to a restaurant called Garden Grill.  You sit at a table like a regular restaurant, but characters come around and you can get autographs and pictures with them.  The floor is actually turning, so you can see the whole restaurant while you are eating.  We met Chip and Dale, Farmer Mickey and Pluto.