Sea World - Speech

As a Florida girl for 18 years, I fell in love with a seemingly magical place. No, I’m not going to be talking about Disney – in fact, I’ve only been there twice in my life. I’m not even going to be talking about the beach –this place is still inland. Instead, I’m going to tell you all about a place I would go, when we had season passes, up to once a month and never get tired of – Sea World in Orlando. There are three main types of attractions that I think will give you the best idea of this water-filled park; the shows, the exhibits, and the rides. I’d also like to give you a small rundown of the other features after that.

First, there are the shows. Although there are several shows, I’d like to highlight just the two I considered best. One of the funniest shows offered is the show entitled “Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island.” A Walrus and a pair of Sea Lions steal the audience’s hearts in this show, guided by several trainers. Of course then there’s the most famous show, which is Shamu’s Show: Believe. If you dare you may get in the Splash Zone during the end of the show, and Shamu will splash you with his gigantic side fin! Shamu will also wave to the audience, jump on command, and even take a trainer for a ride on his nose! Shamu is really a stage name for several different Orcas, or killer whales. These massive creatures are beautiful and intelligent, following hand commands from their trainers and sometimes even guests who pay to get in on a part of a show.

Now that you know about the shows at Sea World, I’m going to tell you about some of the places you can view animals up close and personal. First, there’s the Shark Encounter. As you walk through a totally glass enclosed tunnel, you can see a shark or numerous other sea creatures swim right above your head, or to your left and right! You may get the eerie feeling that you are actually underwater with them! Another animal exhibit is the Penguin Encounter, where penguins run and slip and slide and play as if they were putting on a show just for you. Come up close to the glass and you will likely have only the glass separating you from these curious chilly birds; they will make sure they check you out face to face and seem to enjoy the attention. Probably the most crowded attraction is the Shamu Underwater Viewing, where, if you are lucky, one or more of the Orcas will swim right against the glass tank. This is the very best way to realize just how massive these creatures really are. All around you will be the recorded sounds of Orcas, and the darkness of the man-made structures resembles a cave, in which it’s easy to get lost in the sight of the very blue water.

 If there was an award for the noisiest place in SeaWorld, Pacific Point Preserve would win, hands down! Here the Sea Lions and Harbor Seals bark and howl with incredible intensity in a pit below you. As you see how many people are feeding them fish you may wonder if these creatures ever stop eating. Truly these sea lions and seals are very playful and can entertain you for quite a while jumping off their rocky perches and competing for the food you drop in. In the same way, the smelliest award would have to go to the Stingray Lagoon. Don’t be afraid – if you follow the directions, you won’t get hurt while petting these bottom-feeders. The first time you stick your hand into the water that fills their tank, with your hand parallel to the bottom and your fingers close together with the small dead fish standing up in between your middle and ring fingers, like so, you might be shocked when the smooth and slightly slimy creature slips by stealing your offering. Quick, or you will miss your chance to pet its back! Don’t tempt or tease this animal to try to make it linger nearby you, or you might be sorry, but not even usually because of the poisonous barb on the tail; did you know sting rays actually have teeth? Another step up in the interaction is the Dolphin Cove. At select times of day you can feed these playful mammals! They will come right up to you, and often, if you know the right signs to make, you can persuade them to do tricks for their snacks! Some dolphins actually seem to enjoy being petted and rubbed, so you may find a friend for a few moments even if you don’t buy some fish.

So far we have discussed shows and exhibits, and now I’d like to talk about rides. While you may have heard of rides such as Journey to Atlantis or Kraken, I would like to tell you about two lesser-known rides available at Sea World. One is a very gentle ride that has quite the view – the Tower Ride. Once up in the air, this ride shows you the whole park and more of the immediate surrounding Orlando area. The best time is at sunset, where you can look out over the lake and see brilliant colors from the evening sky. Also, the Wild Artic simulates a helicopter ride to the land of ice and …polar bears! On display with them are Beluga whales and walruses. When this portion originally opened, the bears, Klondike and Snow, were twin cubs. They soon grew big and strong! You might want to take a jacket for this part of SeaWorld, because after being out in the warm sun, this cool environment filled with man-made ice walls and snow will seem quite a contrast.

Let me take a moment to give you a brief list of the many other attractions, such as the wonderful Shamu’s Happy Harbor, which is a playground for kids with high nets to climb across and water tunnels to slide through; fancy dining if you please; Clydesdale horses pulling carriages; tropical gardens with Hawaiian-sounding music lightly playing from stone speakers along the paths; a brewery; little huts selling jewelry and snacks and drinks; and numerous shops to get figurines and stuffed animals, books and apparel, hats and more.

Although it’s not the most typical place you might think of when someone mentions the Sunshine State, Sea World has a huge assortment of shows, exhibits, and rides featuring the animals of the ocean. With plenty of water and not to mention all the extra shopping, dining, and activities packed in between the main auditoriums and stadiums, Sea World brings to life several worlds that might otherwise seem far off, yet still keeps up some of the mystery that goes with the great deeps of the sea.

Part of a Journal about Science Camp

Hillary Beth Miller’s week at BJU Science Camp July 6-11, 2003

Sunday, July 6, 2003 – As soon as we had packed we went down into the lobby at the motel to get some orange juice.  Holland got a cinnamon bun and apple juice.  The orange juice I got was extremely tart!  Mommy got two cups of coffee to go.

    

About an hour-and-one-half later, we arrived at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. 

Of course, first off Mommy had to go to the bathroom.  After she came out, we looked at the gigantic rocks and the little pretty waterfalls in the gardens at the zoo.  We were amazed at the huge pink hibiscus flowers, which were the size of Holland’s head!  As we started down the pathway that led deeper into the gardens, we saw more and more different kinds of flowers, even “antique roses.”

Holland was only impressed for a short time and then she met this cat which she later named some silly name.  Daddy told her to stop messing with that cat and pay attention to the flowers.  Also, we saw a tortoise that was in the dead center of the path.

This time we took the tram down to the main section of the zoo. The ride was so bumpy that we were holding our chests.  I loved going across the bridge over the Saluda River.  Daddy reminded us to look at the remains of pilings on the river bank that were left over from when there was a bridge there during the Civil War. 

During the ride, Holland and I turned the map for the zoo the right way so that we could see where we were and where we wanted to go.  Sadly, the polar bear exhibit was not listed on the map and I figure he must have died.  I will miss him because he was my first favorite, and when I was four I wanted so badly to see a polar bear.  I talked and talked about wanting to see one.  Then we went to Riverbanks Zoo on the way to cousins Tracy & Tracy’s wedding and as soon as we entered the zoo, first thing on the left was the POLAR BEAR!   I visited him again three years ago when we went to visit Aunt Rita. 

This time my favorite animals were located in the new bird center.  Splashing, paddling, preening, and diving, these funny little birds wanted anyone’s attention!  Yes, they were penguins!  They’d come right up to your face at the glass so that only an inch separated you from them in their watery playhouse.  There was one penguin we were worried about because he hid in his little cave and acted like he was ill.  He also had discoloration on his feathers on his lower front.  Poor baby!

While Mommy was in the gift shop, Daddy took us to see the gorillas, bats, elephants, and seals.  Sitting with this his back to the glass, the young gorilla relaxed in the shade and made it seem as if he was mocking us for trying to get his attention. Daddy said that the gorillas must have just eaten because all of the chimps were taking naps and the gorilla was lethargic. There was also a little baby girl who squealed in delight when she saw this animal that was three times her size sitting so close to her.  

Next, there were the bats.  Holland acted as if she was scared of them, but I loved them.   There was a female zookeeper in one of the bat exhibits and she was taking up dishes from their feeding.  Several of the bats fought and she tried to see if they would eat more.  They refused. 

Later on we saw the elephants and Daddy jokingly said, “I can just see the little red angry faces rising up from their heads!”   You see there were piles of “poo”

sitting everywhere.  On our computer zoo game, animals tell you whether they are happy or not by little faces that rise into the air above them.  Red angry faces are not good!  I can’t even imagine what it would be like to scoop elephant poop!  One pile is two feet in diameter!

As we approached the seals, we noticed that one looked kind of funny as he was swimming.  Suddenly Daddy exclaimed, “He’s swimming upside down!”   They had just been fed so I am sure they were very happy and in a playful mood.  The other seal sped around the corner of one of the large rock islands, then disappeared for half-a-minute.  When he returned, he went partially across the pool and then sped right back around again.   Upon our leaving, the first seal was sitting sunbathing on one of the islands.

Mommy found us at the elephant exhibit and we happily continued on our adventure.  Ostriches, giraffes, and zebras were grouped together.  Since Mommy wanted a picture of the closest ostrich, which had her back to us, she called out in a sweet, high voice, “Turn around for me girl.  Come here girl, turn around.”  Almost instantly, that ostrich responded by turning around with what seemed like a smile on her face.  Mommy got a great shot.

We couldn’t see much of the black rhinoceros because he was dozing in the grass at the back of the exhibit.  So we went on to see the lions, a couple more birds and the koala bears.  In the petting barn, we saw three beautiful barn owls sitting in a row up above the door.  They were each in slightly different positions and did not seem to be moving so Daddy, Mommy, and Holland thought they were stuffed.   I was curious about the sign and read it because it implied that they were real.  I watched and watched.  Finally one of them moved!  I showed Daddy and we waited for them to move again thereby certifying that they were real. Then we had to leave because it was getting late for us to get to camp on time.

Quickly, we found a motel and rushed to change clothes and to eat potato salad for “lunch.”  It was a meal on the run.  I had a hard time walking up and down and up and down the stairs at the motel in my new black skirt.  Finally, I arrived at Bob Jones University Science Camp despite the clueless directions given by the motel lobbyist.  I was so scared when I got to my room in the Margaret Mack dormitory, that I wanted Mommy to leave and I wanted it to be bedtime, so that I could figure out what I was afraid of. 

My room mates names were Kristin Smith who slept above me, Whitney Fromm who slept on the other lower bunk, and Mary-Elsye  ________ who slept above Whitney.  Kristin seemed nice at first and Mary-Elsye did something extremely funny.  She dumped absolutely everything she brought into her three drawers without looking or giving a second thought.  This included bottles of shampoo, conditioner, makeup and other things that can spill. 

Whitney was the only one not in science camp and not in the room when I arrived.  She was in music camp and her instrument was the piano.  She was really sweet right from the start.

Our first event was Sunday evening service.  It was held in the Collins Auditorium.  There were many songs that I did not know.  The pianist was a good instrumentalist.  She did her own special performance for us, which sounded very difficult to perform.

As we were dismissed, the camp director said, “ We’re having lunch in the junior high cafeteria.”   Immediately there were whispers around the room as people wondered why he called dinner, lunch.  As soon as we were led there, we found out why.  It was just stale meat and cheese sandwiches.  The bread was as hard as the Cuban bread Daddy and I bought for Mommy one day last year.  That was the time that Mommy pretended that her bread was a baseball bat, and she swung it around the kitchen before making it into garlic bread to go with our spaghetti dinner. 

Well, next up on our schedule was the introduction to science camp which was held in the science building.   Can you believe they have two, two-story buildings dedicated solely to science?  These buildings have case after case of different agates cut in half, which look like all kinds of things like sea horses, butterflies, and tons of other things.   There are also animals that have been preserved through taxidermy including the largest crow I have ever seen in my entire life. 

Anyhow, we got an idea of what activities we were going to be doing and what days we would be doing them on.  Things like the Mars Mission, the Great Oscillation Race, and the ___________ Derby.  The _________ Derby was a mystery to be unveiled by Mr. Harmon himself.  I knew that it would be good because after having Mr. Harmon all year for Physical Science, I knew he had a trick and a joke up his sleeve. I was too afraid to say anything except hi to him when I first met him.  It was such a shock seeing him right there in front of me instead of behind the television screen.  He was just standing there just like on video, but more relaxed and waving us in with a hi.

Although I was interested in the web newspaper team, I figured many people would be signing up for it and since there were only three positions, I thought I’d let others have them.

Back in the dormitory for the evening, it was getting late. It was about 9:30 P.M. and we still had to take showers, brush our teeth, and finish unpacking around our devotional time. It’s not as bad as it sounds, because we had until 10:55 P.M.

There were three rooms our counselor Sarah was assigned to, and they all met in our room.   After she took up prayer requests, we prayed and she explained how our personal devotion time would work for the rest of the week.  We were supposed to devote the entire half-hour even if we were done early everyday.  She suggested that we read other passages in case of finishing early.

Tired and cold on the bottom bunk about an hour after lights out, I finally fell asleep.   We had followed the rules and didn’t talk, but it took me a while to fall asleep because there were so many strange smells and I was still sorting out my day.

10th Anniversary, Please?

10 years ago I wrote a paper on New Zealand, and fell in love.
I want to go there for my 10th Anniversary of marriage :P

2003

      Have you ever heard of New Zealand before?  Although it is off the beaten path, New Zealand is a charming place to visit.  Located about 1,100 miles southeast of Australia, New Zealand has a mild and rainy climate.  Many natural wonders appear within its 103,738 square miles of land.  Over three and one-half million New Zealanders, live on North Island where their capital city of Wellington is located.

 

     New Zealand’s land consists of mountains, valleys, and volcanic landscapes.

In certain parks and other regions, you can experience volcanoes, explore

volcanic terraces, see mud boils, hot springs, and geysers.    There are also

lush rainforests, incredible fjords, impressive craters, large plains, and huge

waterfalls.  On the southern island, you may see low tablelands as well.   

     Throughout the countryside are large farms.  Farmers grow a variety of

things.  Many grow apples and kiwifruit, especially in Kerikeri, New Zealand’s

largest kiwifruit producer.  Farmers also produce fodder, trees for timber, and

silage.

     In the cities, factories manufacture food, aluminum, wood, paper and paper

products, and textiles.  These products are then exported to other countries.

     Although tourism is not a very big business, there are a number of amazing

places to visit.  For example, Fjordland National Park located in the Southland

region is a wonderful place to visit.  Besides the park’s steep mountains, lush

rainforests, and excellent examples of fjords, Fjordland National Park contains

some of the highest waterfalls in the world.  Milford Track, a well-known attraction located in the park, has been billed as the finest walk in the world. In addition to this, Fjordland may be one of the wettest places in the world, but it is the water itself that shapes the land to make it so beautiful.

     Another great place to visit is Queenstown, the busiest and fastest growing

city in New Zealand.  Maybe you are wondering why Queenstown grows so

quickly when all its neighbors do not.  The key is tourist based activities.  First of all, it is the home of bungee jumping and jet boating.  Another big activity is white water rafting down the roaring rivers.  Queenstown has a few good places to go snow skiing.  For the sightseers, there are breathtaking mountain views.  These activities create jobs for New Zealanders and bring people to the area that would  not have discovered otherwise that they want to live here. 

     Since few waterways are used in New Zealand, New Zealanders use railways, highways, and airplanes for transportation.  Of the one hundred eleven airports, only forty-four have paved runways.  This means most of New Zealand’s airplanes are small. 

     Have you ever eaten titi, mutton bird?  Or how about rewena, a bread similar to fried doughnuts?  How about kina, sea egg?  These and other foods like shellfish, eel, dried shark, and fermented corn are a few of the traditional Maori foods. 

     As in England, some favorite New Zealand pastimes are rugby and cricket.  Hockey is played as well.  In the mountains, snow skiing is a popular sport.  New Zealand is also a wonderful place to go hiking, and because of this there are many trails to explore. 

     Almost all of the people of New Zealand consider themselves Christians; 81% to be more precise.  To me, this means that more people say they accept Christ as the Son of God, than have asked Him to forgive them for their sins and have become born again Christians.  Only 18% claim to have no religion, or do not specify an affiliation.  Only 1% claim to be Hindu, Confucian, or other. 

     Among New Zealand’s most famous modern writers is Janet Frame.  Presently, she is a novelist for the magazine Landfall.  She has written three autobiographies so far.  The names of these books are To the Island, An Angel at My Table, and The Envoy from Mirror City.

     Some of New Zealand’s painters and sculptors are quite interesting.  One man, Colin McCahon, is perhaps the most contentious painter in New Zealand.  Some people think of his paintings as gods and seem to worship them. 

     Len Lye is a kinetic sculptor.  He is known internationally as a pioneer of direct film techniques.  That is, he scratches images directly onto celluloid, or photographic film.  

    There are many Maori woman painters in New Zealand.  Robyn Kahukiwa, Kura Te Waru Rewiri, and Shona Rapira Davies show through their paintings a concern for land, whanau or family, anti-sexism, and anti-racism.  They also reflect Maori pride and values. 

     New Zealand has had a very exciting history.  Captain James Cook, the first white explorer to claim the land, discovered New Zealand in 1769 for England.  In a skirmish with the locals of Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, Cook was killed, only nine years after his discovery.       

     It was the Maori who settled New Zealand first.  They arrived from Polynesia in the ninth century and have lived there ever since.  Today, only about nine percent of New Zealand’s population is Maori.  

     In 1814, the first British missionaries arrived and the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1840, recognized Queen Victoria as the protector head of New Zealand.  By 1841, New Zealand was a full-fledged colony.  Bloody wars between the Maori and the English resulted in the loss of lands for the Maori people in the year 1870. 

     Of the many reasons to visit New Zealand, there are some that really stand out.  Besides the already mentioned items about Queenstown, there is a vintage vehicle museum, a kiwi and birdlife park, and a spectacular underwater world.  There are also two radio stations just for tourists.  

     An amazing mountain located in Fjordland National Park, is Mitre Peak which stands one mile high straight out of the water.  Fjordland has lots of record-breaking sights, and the park itself is one of the largest in the world. 

     Rotorua and the volcanic plates which are located just south of the Bay of Plenty on North Island are perfect places to study volcanic activity.  Rotorua is very famous for its volcanic sites, geysers, boiling pools, hot springs, boiling mud, volcanic terraces, and craters.  Pohuto, or splashing, is a geyser located on Geyser Flat.  It shoots over one hundred feet into the air.  If you think Pohuto looks like soap suds, you are right.  Soap is added to the water through an underwater process to make it more spectacular. 

     At Rainbow and Fairy Springs, you can handfeed deer, rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout, besides many native birds, and Captain Cooker wild pigs. These pigs are named after the man who introduced them to New Zealand, Captain James Cook. 

     Bay of Islands has over one hundred fifty islands to explore.  Marine life is very abundant here.  For all the golfers, you have just found an excellent place to go golfing.  Many visitors enjoy playing this sport in the sunny, warm, climate. 

     Mount Cook National Park has the word’s largest ski park.  It is another place full of records; Mount Cook is New Zealand’s biggest mountain. 

     New Zealand has many historical places.  The National Museum and Art Gallery, which is just full of history, collects everything from Maori artifacts to items from Captain Cook.  Along with them are objects from colonial life. 

     Dunedin is not only New Zealand’s Scottish city, but it is also its Victorian city.  Dunedin contains Saint Paul’s Cathedral, a church with gothic pillars.  The church owns an impressive organ that has three thousand, five hundred pipes. 

     Dunedin Railway Station is perhaps the finest stone structure in the country.  Three huge clock faces stare at the people under the covered carriageway.  Many had admired the original floor, which had 725,760 half-inch Royal Dalton porcelain squares on its surface. 

     As you can probably tell by now, Rotorua, Queenstown, Fjordland National Park, and New Zealand as a whole, contains incredible sights, thrilling activities, and memorable experiences to enjoy. There seems to be something to interest about anyone.  If you are planning take a vacation to another country, New Zealand is a great place to go!