Theater of the Sea, a day with Wilbur

While we were in Islamorada, we visited Theater of the Sea. I'd been on their website, and was interested to see what it was about. We walked right by it, on our way from Holiday Isle to Hog Heaven, so I stopped in to see what they offered. There are the usual dolphin shows, a sea lion show, and various other marine animals to see. In addition to the entrance fee, you can pay to swim or meet a dolphin or sea lion, but something else caught my eye. You can have a dolphin or sea lion paint a shirt for you...I was sold!

When I called to inquire about said shirt painting, I was told that they were out of shirts. I asked when they might have shirts, thinking we could stop on our way back north. I was told that it was unsure when the shirts would be available. Being resourceful, I asked the woman on the phone if it was possible to purchase a shirt and bring it with me; I had no idea off hand where I could even buy a shirt. I was told that this would have to be cleared with a trainer, and that I would get a call back. Sure enough, the call came, and I was approved to b.y.o.shirt. By this time, Scott and I were on Route 1 somewhere, heading to rent bikes. I looked up, while on the phone, and saw the words "T-shirt Factory"...perfect!!

We went into the t-shirt place and searched for something I could use. Since they didn't sell blank shirts, I tried to find something which was already printed, that I'd want to wear. This excluded all of the fishing shirts, and shirts over 20.00, narrowing it down substantially. I found an orange shirt that said Peace/Love/Margaritas, with appropriate symbols, above the words Florida Keys. I thought, perfect..I like orange, it had a cute phrase, and referenced our trip to the keys. The back was blank, an open canvas for my marine mammal artist; I made my purchase. Upon seeing my choice, Scott made an interesting observation: what if the color orange sets off the marine mammal artist into a frenzy? I pushed back the thought of being on the local news, for enraging a marine mammal and causing an uproar at Theater of the Sea, as we peddled there.

I chose to have a sea lion paint my shirt. I don't think they get enough attention and credit, what with all the hoopla over dolphins. Don't get me wrong, dolphins are great, and I've SO enjoyed seeing them up close on our trip, but I wanted to give a sea lion some play. There was time beforehand to see the park, so we walked past the birds, tortoises, sharks, and many fish. We saw the sea lion show, where Wilbur was the star performer. The trainer told the audience about sea lions, and had Wilbur show us things he'd learned.

When it was time for my shirt painting, we found out that Wilbur would be doing the honors. Perfect, I already had a connection to the artist! I chose my palette colors, and Scott took pictures while I got to sit up close and watch Wilbur work. Wilbur's trainer handed him a brush with paint on it. After taking the brush in his mouth, Wilbur would carefully apply the paint, creating layers of color. When he was finished, I was taught a few quick and easy signs to give to Wilbur. He was happy to smile, wave, and stick out his tongue for me. I thanked Wilbur for his time, and we headed off. I wore the shirt as we rode the bikes back, to keep from smearing Wilbur's work, and to let it dry. I wore it with pride.

Here are pictures of some of the animals at Theater of the Sea, and our time with Wilbur!