Family Getaways 2008 - (Page 47) 20 Ways to Hang With Dolphins Few animals are associated more with Florida than the dolphin. Find out where to see, feed, touch, swim with, paint with and befriend these playful creatures. By Chelle Koster Walton M erina’s skin felt like those gel-filled keyboard rests – cool, sleek and smooth. When she shook my hand with her fin, gazed into my eyes and smiled her friendly smile, I melted right there on the docks of the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys. Ancient civilizations associated the dolphin with deities, and no wonder. What other creature elicits equal parts adoration and mirth? Who wouldn’t be charmed? It’s that smile, that playfulness. At home in Florida waters, the coastal bottlenose dolphin stars in a number of attractions and tours that we lowly humans admire from afar. Sometimes, when we’re lucky, we get close enough to kiss or touch them. Some say a dolphin feels slick like wet rubber, others say it feels smooth like a peeled hard-boiled egg. But what’s most impressive is the way you feel when you touch, interact with or even see a dolphin. It’s hard to do it justice with words, but “jubilant” and “awed” are common reactions. Except for the gator, few animals are associated more with Florida than the dolphin. It would be hard to imagine another place where there were so many dolphins, and so many ways to interact with them, either in aquariums or in the sea. Here are 20 of my favorites. (Note: Some dolphin encounters have age restrictions, so check ahead before you make family plans.)
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