The dolphins jumped out of the water, the waves they made came at me. I swam out in to the middle of the pen while little colorful fish swam all around me. I put my arms out in front of me, waiting for the five-hundred pound creature to come near. Before I knew it, a huge dolphin was resting its fins under my hands. It was chirping with delight. Then the trainer at the dock (about 10 feet away) blew her whistle and the dolphin was gone in a flash, and all that it left behind was waves, and me floating in them.

My family and I were spending a week in the Florida Keys. We flew from our home in Michigan all the way to Florida. We usually stay at our place in Tampa, but we decided to try the Keys. We were staying in the exact hotel that my mom and dad had stayed in for their honey- moon called Hawk's Cay. Being in the Keys in June was really fun but also exhausting! It was solo hot. I felt like I was going to die of dehydration, even though I drank ten bottles of water a day.
It was a beautiful hotel! It was also worth what we paid for (which was a lot). The hotel had 3 pools and a lagoon. The lagoon was literally a little ocean. It was salt water and was about 11 feet deep in the middle. Little saltwater fish lived in there, and so did five different types of coral. Our room had a perfect view of the front of the hotel. I loved watching the people coming in and out of the hotel. I also loved lying out on our balcony and getting a tan. The only thing bad about the hotel was that it didn't have room service.
When we went outside for the first time since we had gotten to the hotel, I saw a dolphin pit. Four huge dolphins were jumping out of two pens in the back of the hotel. I walked down to the door that led inside of the dock the dolphin pens were spilt. On the door there was a sign that read 'Swim with the Dolphins! Make your reservations at the front desk.' Next to that there was another sign that showed pictures of all the dolphins in the pen and a short paragraph about them. It also showed how much they weighed. Two of the dolphins weighed over five-hundred pounds!
I begged my mom and dad to let me do the dolphin thing for at least two days. Finally, on the second to last day we were there, my parents finally caved. My dad even said he would do it with me! We made a reservation for 3 in the afternoon. The wait was agony! I had to wait 3 whole hours to swim and play with the dolphins.
The time had finally come! My dad and I were waiting for the lady to let us in the door. There were 13 other people in our group. The lady finally let us in about fifthteen minutes later. We all walked in to a little room behind the door. There was one more door that led to the dock. My dad and I sat down in the back row of the two rows of chairs that were set up in the little wooden room.
We walked down a small ladder that led into the dolphin pit. I thought we would have to float in the ten feet deep water, but, to my surprise, I stepped onto a wooden board that jetted away from the dock. Our instructor told us to be careful because the board was slippery from the fish swimming in the water and we could easily fall off. (I was very happy they gave us lifejackets after she said that!)
Our instructor blew a whistle and a dolphin appeared. I was a little scared at first because she said this was their oldest and largest dolphin. We each took turns giving Bubba (the dolphin) a hug. When it was my turn, the lady told me to come to the edge of the dock and put my hand around the large creature. What I felt was not what I expected! The dolphin felt smooth, like the skin of a baby. It was not slimy like a fish. The dolphin also felt like one big muscle. The minute I put my arms around the creature, I could feel the amount of power it had. I could feel its full potential.
For the next hour, we moved from pen to pen and did tricks with the dolphins. My favorite was when the instructor told them to smile (she did a hand motion), and they smiled and popped their tail out of the water. Well, one thing is for sure, it is an experience I will never forget!