It's cold in Florida if it falls below 60

We got to the Homosassa Springs area Sunday night and camped out in the nearby WalMart parking lot to get a few hours of sleep. Woke up at 5am on Monday to go snorkle with the Manatees. I love Manatees and am going to share that love with you. Here are some Manatee factoids for ya.



*The manatees closest land relatives are the elephants

*Manatees are gentle and slow-moving

*They are vegetarians

*They consume 10-15% of their body weight daily in vegetation

*They have no natural enemies

*There are only about 3,000 manatees left in the United States.

*The reproductive rate for manatees is slow. Female manatees are not sexually mature until about five years of age, and males are mature at approximately nine years of age. On average, one calf is born every two to five years, and twins are rare. The gestation period is about a year. Calfs nurse for two years.



*Sailors used to think that Manatees were mermaids (too much run) and would catch or kill them.

*Today, the most Manatee deaths are caused by injuries inflicted by humans (boats, pollution...)

*You can help Manatees by donating your time or money, and by being cautious while in Manatees habitats. manatee

Snorkling with them was awesome. The slow boat ride up the dark and foggy river was relaxing. We got to see the sun rise out there, then put on our masks and went in the water. It was difficult getting in because there were a few manatees that had swum up to the boat and we had to be careful not to kick them, step on them, etc. Manatees are naturally inqusitive and friendly, which puts them at even greater danger of being injured by people or their speedboats. As I was swimming around on the surface manatees were coming up to me, trying to see who I was and all that. You're not allowed to swim to them, or pursue them once they leave you. But they were rubbing up against me on their own accord and playing with me in the water. It was amazing. I was in manatee heaven. I didn't get a waterproof camera because I didn't want to be worried about taking great pictures to show off. I'm glad I didn't, it was much better just doing it rather than documenting it. Lots of the other snorklers were breaking the law and swimming up to them, chasing after them, etc....

Anywho... That's all for the manatees. Actually, one last thing. They make this really nice sound, a sort of siren call/screech...

After the swim we headed up to the eastern coast of Florida to visit Ted's Aunt & Uncle in Port St. Lucie. Got there that afternoon, his unlce made delicious chinese food for dinner, and we've spent the last few nights visiting and being touristy in this area. We went to the little aquarium nearby, walked around the town, hung out on the beach,
sat in a hot tub, and tried to go to the State Fair (but they closed it early due to the small crowds in this cold ((40ish)) degree weather). We're leaving here tomorrow morning to head to New Orleans for a volunteer project.