Mihret’s best day ever with Hope at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium
“You must be Mihret,” a bald gentleman smiled and shouted across the parking garage of Clearwater Marine Aquarium. His name was Bill. And he was the best tour guide we’ve ever had. And it was just he very beginning of what might have been our best day ever.
When we found out that Mihret had been granted a wish by Indiana Children’s Wish Fund, Christy reached out to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home to Winter and Hope, to see if we could arrange a Meet & Greet for Mihret and one of the dolphins. Winter no longer does hands-on encounters, but they agreed that Mihret should meet Hope.
When we arrived Monday morning, we thought we were just going to have a short session with Hope and then head on our way to Clearwater Beach.
Boy, were we wrong.
When Bill greeted us in the parking garage, he told us they had some great things planned for us, and we later found out that a surprise had been arranged for 1 p.m. So we quickly ditched our beach plans and allowed our hosts to surprise us over and over again.
But first, Hope the Dolphin.
Hope was ready to play and show off a little for Mihret. Aiden and Aly were allowed to join Mihret on the platform as she fed and played with Hope. It was an experience of a lifetime for all three of them.
Hope even let Mihret touch her tail. That was pretty cool.
These encounters are nothing new for the aquarium. Winter and her prosthetic tail has been such an inspiration to so many kids with physical disabilities and disabled veterans that the staff knows how to make sure you have a memorable experience. They provided a photographer who took pictures throughout the experience. So I shot a video of the whole thing.
Pretty cool, huh?
That was just the beginning.
Bill gave us a tour of the rest of the facility, sharing Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s story, how A Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale literally changed the organization’s outlook, and how they’re using their increased fame to do a whole lot more good in the area. The aquarium’s facility was originally a waste water treatment plant. It was never built with visitors in mind. And it certainly wasn’t designed for people with disabilities. But all that’s about to change. They’re in the middle of a giant expansion with improved housing for their permanent residents. It will also be much more visitor-friendly. And that’s a great thing because Winter and Hope are such an inspiration to so many people across the country, and even around the world!
And who knew a light up fidget spinner would attract the dolphins? Well, Bill did! And then he gave it to Mihret to use and then take home!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvb375wAVPy/
After our tour of the facility, Bill brought us into the office. He encouraged us to make ourselves at home, and to even take a seat behind the director’s desk. We didn’t have to tell Aiden twice. Well, we really did. But that doesn’t sound as fun, does it?
While we were in the office, we found out about the special meeting that had been arranged for us. We needed to be back at 1 p.m. So we went out to learn about Nicholas the Dolphin, then walked down the street to grab a quick bite of lunch.
The big surprise!
When we returned from lunch, we met in the office again. The CEO of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, David Yates, came in with an iPad. They had arranged for us to FaceTime with Cozi Zuehlsdorff, who played Hazel in both Dolphin Tale movies!
Mihret was very excited to talk with Cozi. We all were, really. But Mihret was especially excited because not only is Cozi in the Dolphin Tale movies, but she’s also in one of Mihret’s favorite Disney Channel movies: Freaky Friday! Mihret asked her several questions, including “what’s your favorite color?” She was quite tickled when Cozi said “yellow,” because that’s also Aly’s favorite color!
“You inspire me,” Cozi said to Mihret. And she said it several times throughout their conversation. She was so encouraging and kind. It was pretty neat to hear how much she loves Clearwater Marine Aquarium and continues to support their efforts however she can.
While we were already pretty big fans of Cozi and her work, I think it’s safe to say that we’re even bigger fans now. She’s a favorite of ours, for sure! Thank you, Cozi, for taking the time to talk with us. It was an experience we’ll never forget. Maybe we’ll cross paths sometime when all of us are at the aquarium sometime. Because I know we’re planning on coming back.
Best.day.ever.
Before we left, Bill gave Mihret a little goodie bag with some neat souvenirs from our visit. It included a plush Winter dolphin that had been autographed by some of the cast – including Cozi! When we asked Bill to take a selfie with us (because you know I had to take a family selfie here), he gladly obliged. And Mihret made sure her new favorite plush dolphin was in the picture, too!
We had an amazing experience at Clearwater Marine Aquarium and it’s one we will never forget. We’re so thankful to the aquarium for the way they inspire families like ours every day. We’re fans for life. We’ll be back, for sure.
I can’t end this post by encouraging you to consider supporting Clearwater Marine Aquarium. They have a really neat Adopt an Animal program. We signed up for that program shortly after coming home from Florida. So feel free to ask me about our experience.
Thanks again, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, for allowing Winter and Hope to inspire us and so many others!
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