Hanging out with the manatees~Crystal River, FL
I know I’ve gotten terribly lazy about posting personal stuff on here….but we had such an awesome weekend, I wanted to make sure to get these pictures up here. We spent the weekend in Crystal River, which is close to Homosassa, an area known as a manatee sanctuary. For those who don’t live here and aren’t familiar with them, manatees are an endangered mammal, and they are HUGE! When Ben was a kid, he visited the same area, and swimming with the manatees is one of his most treasured memories. So it was really neat for him to share this, and give our girls (and Sarah, who came with us) a chance to grow up with the same memory. If you ever get a chance to go, do so. The pictures don’t do it justice.
Baylee and Sarah. Right behind Baylee is a manatee. It was actually rolling over so that they could scratch its belly!
Baylee and Ben swimming with the manatee
Ben
Crystal River, headed towards one of the springs….look how clear the water is!
Tammy, I am glad you guys had the chance to get away. You really needed it!
What a beautiful place!! beautiful pics!
I definitely need to get up there one of these days.
Wow! that looks like a boat load of fun! (pun intended LOL)
I agree with Jeanine! I’m so glad you had a fun day with your family and they are beautiful pics:o)
I stopped by the fundraiser Saturday and missed you. Hope to see you soon.
Looks like a great time Tammy. We have very similar creatures over here called Dugongs. In fact, I am taking an excursion to the Sydney Aquarium tomorrow to view the brand new Dugong enclosure. Unfortuntely there is no opportunity to swim with them.
Flights are only $1500 at the moment. It is so tempting to come over.
Tracie, that is so neat! dugongs? I have never heard of them. Now I am curious.
It would be so nice if you could come to see us:)
Have fun at the aquarium:)
I just did a google search for Dugongs. They are adorable! Yet another reason I need to make it to the outback! :) here is a little info for anyone who is interested:
Dugongs are related to manatees and are similar in appearance and behavior— though the dugong’s tail is fluked like a whale’s. Both are related to the elephant, although the giant land animal is not at all similar in appearance or behavior.
Dugongs graze on underwater grasses day and night, rooting for them with their bristled, sensitive snouts and chomping them with their rough lips.
These mammals can stay underwater for six minutes before surfacing. They sometimes breathe by “standing” on their tail with their heads above water.
That looks super. I’d love to see somewhere like that.
If you’re lucky you can see manatees at Blue Spring in Fla. during the winter months: http://scenefromflorida.com/2009/02/episode-11-manatees-and-more-at-blue-spring/