Day Seventeen: Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Dolphins certainly seem to be the common denominator for the Florida portion of our Fall Semester Trip.  After starting and ending our day Sunday with dolphin sightings, first in the Everglades National Park and later off the coast of Pass-a-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg, Veritas made the short trek up to Clearwater today (Monday, Oct 17) to visit one of the most famous dolphins in the country.  "Dolphin Tale" hit local theaters across the country three weeks ago like gangbusters.  It has not only been enjoyed as a great family movie, but critics have embraced it as well, giving it the same rating (see rottentomatoes.com) as Avatar! 

Knowing we would be visiting Winter, the main character of "Dolphin Tale," in person the end of our trip, Veritas actually visited a local theater to view the movie the week we left Waco for the North Country.  Much of the movie was filmed on location so we recognized many of the sights in and around the marina and aquarium.  And of course there was Winter!  This unique dolphin lost its tale after getting entangled in a crab trap and was given no hope for survival, but she beat all odds to prove that no obstacle is too daunting if the will to overcome it is greater.  We arrived at the Clearwater Aquarium just in time to watch Winter and her surrogate mother Panama in their daily training session.  Enjoy the photos, and if you haven't yet done so, get out to see the movie -- I'm confident you'll be glad you did.