Day 5 - Saturday March 23, 2013 - Dolphin Cove, Shark Valley Tram Tour and Departure

Day 5 - Saturday March 23, 2013 - Dolphin Cove, Shark Valley Tram Tour and Departure Our last day! No, where has the time gone. I guess it is true – Time flies when you are having fun. And fun we have had. Today was no exception. After breakfast in the Tiki Hut, our bags were packed up one last time and loaded on the bus. Our first activity for the day would take place at the Dolphin Cove where we all swam and interacted with dolphins. We had an instructional session before our large group of 46 was divided into two smaller groups. Group A headed for the classroom to learn “How to train animals” and group B suited up with flotation vests to go swim with the Dolphins. We were asked to divide into smaller groups of 2 or 3 before going into the water. Each small group got to interact with 2 dolphins. We rubbed their bellies, scratched their backs, did hand shakes, kissed them, held hoops and bars for them to jump through and over. We also were pushed on our backs and stomachs by the two dolphins and finally got a ride back to the dock by holding onto their dorsal fins. This was by far probably the most exciting activity we have had all week. Our tight schedule put us back on the bus at 11:30am and off we went to our last excursion of the trip – The Shark Valley Tram tour(http://www.sharkvalleytramtours.com/). Our drive was about 2 hrs long and we stopped to pick up our call in order for lunch at Wendy’s. The tram tour began at 2 pm and for the next two hours we learned about the history of the Everglades and Shark Valley as well as observed the wildlife. There were alligators all over – babies, juveniles, small, medium and large adults and even some that were dead. Lots of birds – Anhinga, Great Egret, Great and Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, White Ibis and Pink Spoonbills. We also saw several turtles. Mid way through the tour the tram stopped and we all walked up to the Shark Valley Observation tower. The view was absolutely spectacular. Kristin took a lovely group picture of all of us at the top of the ramp. On the bus again we reflected on the week and got ourselves ready for our departure of sunny warm Florida. Dinner was had at the airport right before we boarded our flight, which was slightly delayed. We landed At Dulles in DC around 9:30pm. Rumor has it that RG# might have been on our flight in 1st class and then on the shuttle to the main terminal. Who knows ? Luggage was collected and then everyone (except Mrs. Nicholas, Mrs. Rhodes, Mr. Lohr, Mr. Runion, Emma, Brandon and William) got on the bus and returned home to Broadway. The group of seven that stayed behind ended up waiting for the Super Shuttle for about an hour. It then took another hour before they arrived at Reagan National Airport to get their cars. The bus arrived sometime between 11:30 and midnight and those in cars got home around 2 -2:30pm. It’s been fun and exciting. We have had so many new experiences, learned a lot, strengthened friendships, made lots of new great friends and most of all created some awesome life long memories. Interesting facts of the day: 1. When parking in hourly parking for 5 days it costs a lot of money - $180/car. 2. The Everglades usually have 3 feet of water covering most of the land midsummer. FINALLY Thank you to all students that came on this trip. Thank you to our wonderful group of chaperons. We could not do it without you. Thank you to all the parents that have help through out the year and all the parents that have made this possible for this group of students to go on the trip. Mrs. Rhodes and Mrs. Nicholas greatly appreciate what you have done this past year. THANK YOU.