Discovering me at Discovery Cove

So in Orlando it has to be said that the one thing I was looking forward to most, was swimming with dolphins

My husband & I came here the year before our wedding in November 2005 & I couldn’t do it then. So it’s been my dream, my wish for the last 13 years! And here we were!

We were all excited. Laila the most as always, because free food was included so she ate the biggest breakfast you could imagine an 8 year old to eat. And she ate it all

From the moment I arrived I felt relaxed. I took a book, found a sun-lounger & lay dipping my toes in the soft sand.

There was a pool & hammocks & dolphins everywhere. I can honestly say that this day my anxiety disappeared … it was incredible & certainly the place I’ll return to when we come back in the future.

The next amazing thing was snorkelling with the sting rays & fish. For a few minutes my anxiety returned. As I have asthma & panic attack’s I have never tried to swim under water with a snorkel. But trying to appear brave in front of the girls I did it & wow it was incredible. I found a mindfulness breathing pattern & stuck to it. You couldn’t avoid occasionally touching a sting ray or fish. We saw some tiny sharks through glass but it was incredible. I have no photos of this but there was so many other animals to see there.

And then our time arrived. Our dolphin was Kayley and she was amazing. I was first in the line up & got to do everything first. I kissed her, stroked her, waved at her, watched her tricks & swam with her. This beautiful creature felt like she was absorbing my anxiety as I was in with her. I’ll be honest, I feel not only grateful for the opportunity as we were able to do this from inheritance from my mums passing, but I also felt emotional & humbled.

I really found an inner peace that day & I would recommend it to everyone! But for those of you who worry about queues, noise & lots of people, don’t rule out Orlando, because Discovery Cove made everything else worth it.