Florida: the wonders at Seaworld

Exiting the state of Washington by plane was easy, but parting with all the nice people we had met there was not. Seattle, Fort Worden and ToloNation had all contributed so much to the fast evolving dream vacation we were still only halfway through. But the high points were not in short supply yet. Next up: Florida.

Having preordered accomodation and settled on which tourist attraction were worthy of our money, this third leg of our journey was meant to be a sort of lull in our otherwise semi-hectic 'scouting expedition' of the American reality. We were left to ourselves, four adults and five children, but by now we had learned to expect nothing but friendliness and cultured openness from the strangers that we would stumble into at our hotels or the shopping malls and so forth. So our apprehension meter had already perched at a zero level as we emptied the content of our suitcases onto the beds in the Hawthorn Suites hotel in the outskirts of Orlando.

SEAWORLD: UP FOR GRABS

It didn't matter much that our Cuban exile taxi driver had overcharged us slightly for our ride from the aiport to Hawthorn. Being the affluent tourists, I guess we felt morally obliged to overlook such blemishes on the American host record of courtesies offered. Our expectations and attention were also by now firmly fixed on what lay waiting for us at Seaworld, which we had decided would be the first in line of our two major picks set to delight and enthrall both young and old.

Trusting that our Scandinavian pedestrian routine (walking on foot) would get us quickly and inexpensively to the gates of today's entertainment, we immediately were made to experience the effects of the almost total lack of sidewalks. After suffering from confusion and disorientation for a while in the ankle-high grasses that lined the roads, we tried latching onto a group of Hispanics who apparead to be hot on the trail. It took us less than five minutes to conclude that we now numbered twelve people who had absolutely no clue of how to actually get to the main entrance.

GETTING LOST..AND GETTING THERE

But dogged adherence to plan and good use of our oculars finally did bring us to, and through, both security check points as well as main entrance. Seaworld didn't elude us. It presently opened up wide to us, and a few minutes of casually scanning the surroundings convinced us that making this day our day would require less of an effort than previously imagined.

We anticipated shows of unparallelled quaility, knowing that the native knack for such visual extravaganzas is peerless. And hope didn't let us down in the least. All in all we strolled, sprinted or ambled to six consecutive shows, and at no time did we hear the slightest hint of complaint from our small ones. They were as infatuated as we were, too taken in by the natural wonders on display, too awed by the ingenuity of our Creator. For this was, honestly, as edifying as any sermon could ever be.

KILLER WHALES ON DISPLAY

The one show that found me completely mesmerized, was the one featuring the killer whales. We had already 'done' the dolphins and been insiders to the incredible tricks of sea lions and seals, but our not so so natural friends in black and white proved to be in a league of their own. Witnessing incredible agility and synchronized movements, we gasped, cheered and held our breaths as these aquatic giants performed their stupenduous routines. And we were also in no small measure impressed by the people who had carefully and lovingly trained these animals for so many years. For despite their apparent serenity and amicable disposition, we also knew that in their natural habitats these creatures are ferocious killers, albeit no direct threat to man.

Seaworld brought home forcefully the wordless message from these friends of conservationism: preserving the diversity of animal species concerns us all, particularly if we hold to the tenet that we as human are caretakers of our globe. And as we continue insisting on the uniqueness of each human individual - and his or her incomparable value in God's eyes, we still must not neglect our co-creatures or downplay the importance of safekeeping all forms of life. God expects that much from us.

That's what Seaworld taught me.