Swimming with Dolphins

This past summer was by far the best one yet. I have experienced many celebrations in my twenty-four years of life, but never have I experienced one quite like this. On July 29, 2016, I became a Mrs! Our wedding day was everything that I ever dreamt it would be, and more. From start to finish everything was perfect and I would relive it one million more times if I could. While our wedding day was the best day of my life thus far, I experienced something absolutely amazing just a few days later.

My husband and I left for our honeymoon just two days after our wedding. We set sail onto a cruise ship where we left from Miami, Florida, and traveled to the Western and Southern Caribbean. We docked in Honduras on our fourth day, where we had an excursion planned. We took our vouchers and walked off the ship to look for the sign that said, “Swim with the Dolphins!” Once we located it, we stood on line and waited for our tour guide to shuttle us to our location. As we pulled into St. Nick’s Resort, I immediately thought this was the best experience of my life. Looking out into the ocean I saw a designated area for swimming with the dolphins, where there were tons of dolphins swimming around and jumping out of the water. We took a mini boat to the designated area, where my experience began.

The excursion began with a trainer explaining to us what we were going to do. Once we got into the water, it was something I have never experienced. We had dolphins swimming all around us for about an hour. The trainer had the dolphin, Tilly, do some tricks, make some noises and swim right next to us. We were able to pet Tilly as she swam next to us and the trainer was constantly feeding Tilly as she was showing off for us. At one point, the trainer fed Tilly, but gave her a command not to eat the fish. He explained that Tilly would come over to one person, and that he/she would take the fish out of Tilly’s mouth and throw it to her to catch. Once he gave Tilly the command, she came right to me! I was so excited that I was able to experience this. Tilly swam up to me and opened her mouth wide. I took the fish out of her mouth and tossed it in the air. Tilly lifted her head and caught the fish right in front of me. It was one of the coolest experiences, ever. We were then able to touch Tilly’s teeth and swim with her! After sixty minutes of fun and laughter, we were headed back to the resort, where we purchased tons of pictures of us with Tilly. I am so glad that I bought these pictures because it allows me to look back and remember this amazing experience that I had on my honeymoon.

Vocabulary

• Summer - the season during the months of June, July and August
• Honeymoon - a first vacation you take as husband & wife after you get married
• Excursion - a short trip or outing
• Voucher - a piece of paper to show that you paid for something
• Dolphin - a mammal that lives in the ocean
• Trainer - a person who teaches

Fill in the correct word.

1. The man collected our ___________ before letting us get on the bus.

2. My favorite season is ________ because it is hot outside.

3. The __________ works with the dolphin to teach him new tricks.

4. We went on a fun _________ while we were on vacation.

5. We left for our __________ the day after our wedding. 

6. We swam with a ______________ named Tilly.
Adjectives - words that describe other words to make your writing more specific. Using adjectives helps a reader or listener imagine what you are speaking about.
Activity: Make a poster and put a family member or friend in the center. Surround that person with adjectives to describe him/her.