My girls are big fans of Hope and Winter, the dolphins portrayed in the movies Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2. Winter is a great role model of strength and determination. If you don’t know their story, Winter was 3 years old when her tail became entangled in a crab trap line that cut off the circulation of her tail flukes. She was brought to Clearwater Marine Aquarium and, with the help of the staff, was given a prosthetic tail and fluke and relearned how to swim. Unlike a typical aquarium, Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a working animal hospital and marine life rescue center.Â
We started our day with a tour of the aquarium with Julia, who was knowledgeable of all the animals and answered all our questions. What struck me most was how committed the staff is to the well-being of all of the animals brought here. They were all quick to answer questions my girls had and if you were looking at an exhibit they would come over and give you facts about the animals like what led them to need help.  It was a welcoming environment and we walked away with tons of knowledge about marine animals. The girls couldn’t stop telling my husband all about it over dinner.Â
