MERMAIDS!!!!

This past Saturday, I fulfilled a lifelong dream: I got to see real-life mermaids.

Or, more accurately, two women in Spandex mermaid tails who are professional mermaids.

The Weeki Wachee mermaids (http://www.weekiwachee.com/) are at the Camden aquarium until November 9th, so Jacquie, Jason, Anthony, and I all made the (somewhat harrowing) trip down to see them. We had a lovely afternoon exploring the aquarium and seeing all sorts of fun animals–including an oh-so-aquatic armadillo named Tank–and getting hyped for the mermaid show.

His name is Tank and he was very shy

The show was kind of a bust–because of how many people they needed to move in and out of the theatre, it wasn’t a full show, it was more like the mermaids just dancing to different songs and doing a lot of backflips, but it was still really cool to see. I’ve always wanted to go to Weeki Wachee, so this was a nice way to experience it without having to hop on a plane and fly to Florida.

For those who don’t know me very well, up until I hit high school, I wanted to be a marine biologist (seriously, that’s what I would’ve said I wanted to be if you asked me in kindergarten). I loved the ocean and everything in it (and I still do), so loving mermaids was a natural thing for me.

I’ve known about the mermaids since I was in my teens, but never got the chance to actually go to Weeki Wachee. Up until Saturday, my exposure to them was limited to the novels Swim to Me by Betsy Carter, which actually takes place in Weeki Wachee, and Mermaid Park by Beth Mayall, which is a YA novel that takes place in mermaid park on the Jersey Shore. I also have a few vintage post cards from the Springs that I picked up at antique shops.

It was so cute to see the kids and mermaids interacting with each other–all the little girls were so excited!! I saw a bajillion little girls wearing Little Mermaid shirts, which warmed the cockles of my Ariel-loving heart.

And now: MERMAID SELFIES!!

 

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. I don’t know that I’d pay the $21 to go to the Aquarium again (and that was a discounted ticket) because it was a but underwhelming, but I’d certainly go with discounts and friends (even without the mermaids).