Meeting a movie star!

Winter the dolphin and her "adoptive mother" Panama

Three of my children watching Winter up close!

Winter shows off what is left of her tail

The river otters were pretty cute too

Two of Winter's prosthetic tails- her current one and a "baby" one

    Florida has always been known for beautiful winters.  It is warm and sunny and wonderful here in winter.  For the last few years, Clearwater, in particular, has become a little bit more famous because of its Winter.  In 2005, a baby dolphin was found entangled in a crab trap and sent to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), just 15 minutes down the road from us.  The dolphin was named Winter and, though she eventually lost her tail due to her injuries, she is doing fine today.  Winter’s story of adapting to life without a tail and then being given a prosthetic one has been featured in a book and even on the national news.  We had visited Winter’s home at CMA years ago, long before she was even born but this past weekend we finally had the chance to go and see her for the first time.  The aquarium, which is really more of a sea creature rehab hospital, has not changed much since our last visit.  It cost a whole lot more now but that may be because there are a whole lot more of us now.  It was also a whole lot busier.  That Winter sure knows how to draw a crowd!  Still, despite the crowds we had a lot of fun learning about Winter and her “family”. 
    In September a movie all about Winter will be coming to a theater near you.  It was filmed at CMA and stars Winter as herself.  From the trailers, it seems Hollywood has, of course, put their own spin on things but the aquarium staff assured us that though the people parts are made up, the dolphin parts are still true.   I don’t usually “plug” movies on my blog but that little dolphin was so darn cute and her story is so positive and sweet.  You can check out the trailer here, and see more about CMA and Winter here.