Father's Day Weekend in Chicago - Part 2 of 2

Saturday
This was the big day. Dolphin Day! Or shall I say Marine mammal day...since I worked with more than just the dolphins. We woke up really early to get to the Shed Aquarium by 8:15 for my "Trainer for a day" experience. The day began by me getting dressed up in a trainer outfit, followed by a short briefing of the animals on site we would be working with and how the day would proceed.

The animals we were able to see and learn about were as follows:

• Pacific White-sided dolphins (4)


• Beluga Whales (7)


• Alaskan Sea Otters (5)


• California Sea Lions (2)


• Gentoo Penguins and Rockhopper Penguins (50)


• Red-Tailed Hawk (1)


• Great Horned Owl (1)


• Barred Owl (1)

We were given the opportunity to sit in on the briefing meetings before every training session. First we were able to see the birds first. The owls were pretty interesting they do not turn their heads 360 degrees, rather 270...we did get to see one do this and it was pretty freaky. The next stop was the Beluga Whale habitat. We were able to get really close to the whales and listen to the the trainers work with them. Next we went to the first of two Dolphin shows, where we got to stand behind the scenes and watch from the side of the pool. After the dolphin show we headed back to the "Kitchen" where we helped prepare the Beluga Whales' lunch, which consisted of about 10 lbs of herring and whitefish each (they must be Jewish...). Throughout the day they eat up to 60 lbs of fish. We cut, sorted and weighed the fish and then had to clean up(this was not the highlight of the day) but it was interesting to see how much work the trainers do behind the scenes. After working, we went to watch the see otters get trained, then the Sea Lion and back to our second dolphin show. This was the show I was actually able to take part in! I was taught a few hand signals and was involved in the briefing meeting, then we headed out to the amphitheater. During the show one of the trainers worked with me and a dolphin and I was able to give some signals and touch the dolphin. This was incredible!! Finally, as a special bonus (since we had time) our liaison, Celeste, took us to the Penguin exhibit. Here we got to climb(literally hanging to the walls by handles) into the exhibit and stand in the middle of all of the penguins. It was nesting season, so they were relatively calm and they were pretty friendly (except the one that bit my pants when I got a little too close to her nest). A few of teh penguins followed us out of the exhibit and did not want to go back in which was pretty comical, especially for the museum guests. We had lunch in the aquarium and walked back towards the hotel.

On our way back we stopped at Buckingham fountain and Millennium Park to play in the fountain. For dinner we stayed close to the hotel since it had been a long day and had some sushi. Isaac had some more tuna, this time in rolls...he seems to be a big fan of "Shooshee"(which is what he calls it). Olivia tried tofu for the first time and loved it. The waitress brought over a plate full and she ate the whole plate! Finally, we headed back to Michigan avenue to walk around. We saw some street performers and Isaac had his name painted...then we headed back to the hotel.

After the kids fell asleep Miriam and I were about fall asleep when we started to see and hear fireworks going off over Navy Pier. Overall a perfect day!

Sunday

In the morning we went to Navy Pier and spent some time walking around the pier since the Children's museum did not open until 10 AM. We spent a lot of time in the "Construction Zone". Then we headed to the airport. In the cab the kids were playing quite a bit and Olivia said "Bye!" for the first time. I guess to Chicago.....

You can see some more pictures taken by the Shed Aquarium here.

To see all of the pictures and a videos from the entire weekend click here.