Day 18: Things I'll Never Forget About Lori

Swimming With Dolphins!

As we planned for our One Year Anniversary on the Big Island of Hawaii, there was one thing Lori knew for sure––she wanted to swim with dolphins.

Because of her illness, we had no idea whether we would get another chance to do this in the future, so instead of risking one of the many "guided dolphin boats" in Hawaii (these are the good folks who take you out on a boat in the hopes of finding a pod of dolphins to swim with––but with no guarantees!) we chose the safer route: a dolphin encounter at the Hilton Waikoloa.

No, it wasn't very politically correct––the dolphins are in captivity after all––but having just survived her first year of hard chemo, it was important to both of us that Lori get exactly what she wanted and deserved... some quality time with a sweet dolphin.

The Hilton didn't let us down.

While these dolphins may indeed be in captivity (heck, bottlenose dolphins don't even naturally visit the waters around Hawaii,) upon checking into our room, and wandering down to the dolphin area, we were relieved to find the animals full of life, playing in their huge underwater lagoon, and looking healthy and strong.

There was even a mother giving birth.

Now, this wasn't a cheap experience (I think we paid $150 each for the privilege,) but when the big day came (yep, you have to make reservations at least weeks in advance, and more likely even months,) we weren't let down.

Our dolphin––a young and rambunctious little guy named Liko––brought tears to our eyes, had us laughing like children, and generally showed us a great time.

We got to swim with him (sort of!) play with him, feel his wonderfully warm skin, and even kiss him on the snout. He in turn showed off his prowess at "standing" on his tail, dashing across the lagoon at blinding speeds, and doing all sorts of other tricks.

Oh yeah, and we got to hand-feed him fish, to thank him for his hard work.

The small amount of time we spent with our friend Liko meant more to us than you could ever guess––over the four years that followed, his name came up more often than you'd guess, and the photos we had taken with Liko are still some of our dearest treasures (I'll share more of them with you at a later date.)

Lori felt absolutely transcendent that day.

And to this day I feel blessed to have played even a small role in making that long-held dream of hers come true.

Lori, if you're reading this, you made so many of my own dreams come true... arranging for you to swim with Liko was the least that I could do.

I only wish I could have done more.