Miami Seaquarium

Last week, we took Ryan to visit the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne.  I remember that during our wedding weekend, some of our guests took their children here and they really enjoyed it.  They experienced the dolphin encounter, which includes getting to touch, play, and swim with the dolphins.  We didn't do this, but I think that it will be amazing for Ryan when he is a little older.

This is where "Flipper" was filmed in the 70's, so it is not the newest or most up-to-date place, but it serves its purpose.  I especially like the fact that they rescue and rehabilitate many of their manatees and sea turtles.  The killer whale show was exciting, but we weren't as impressed with the dolphin show. Even Ryan did not seem to care much about seeing the dolphins jump and flip.

In addition to all of the sea creatures, they also have lots of birds roaming around the park.  It is not a super large area, but there are certainly plenty to see.  Before this, I never realized that some flamingos are actually more orange than pink.

This peacock hopped right up onto the ledge so that we could get a closer look at him.  Shortly after this picture was taken, he gave me a peck on the cheek.  It felt like a little pinch.  Thankfully, he decided not to give one to Ryan.

Ryan's favorite part the park was watching the sea turtles and land turtles.  He pointed to each of them and practiced his counting, which went something like "1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10".  (I mean, at least he is starting to get the order and is trying to understand what numbers are used for!)

We opted out of getting our pictures taken while holding the parrots, probably because of a weird experience that we had with parrots on our honeymoon.  (I will save that for another time).  But Ryan was very proud to show off his key chain that we got him with his own name on it!  The medium stuffed dolphin?  Not so much.