Swimming with the Manatees!

Friday night a group of us went out to a country bar called The Bull. When we got there they had a live band performing. Once they were finished everyone went to the dancefloor for some line dancing. It was my first time line dancing, but I loved it! Nick knew all of the dances so we just followed him most of the time. Each song has a combo of moves that just repeats throughout the song, so once you figure that out, you're golden til the next song. Ashley's brother made it his goal of the night to try on all of the cowgirl hats that he saw and had a good success rate too!

This Saturday I had the pleasure of going on a kayaking trip to Caladesi Island with the Sacred Heart Youth Group. The water was nice and smooth and the sun was shining the whole time! We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Most of our group

We kayaked out to the island and went around to the back side of it. Once we were on the other side we saw a kayaker snapping photos of something in the water. We soon learned that there were eight manatees swimming around him close to shore. We quietly paddled over to where he was. Beneath the surface I could see what looked like huge shadows or rocks moving slowly along the bottom. They swam underneath my kayak a couple of times and I was nervous that they'd surface and capsize me, but they were very peaceful animals.

Swimming with the MANATEES!!!

He's so cute :]

After seeing the manatees we pulled our kayaks onshore and went swimming to cool off. Much to our amazement, the manatees came back. They swam right past us. At one point I wanted a little bit of a closer look and instead I ended up getting surrounded. One swam so close to me that I was scared that it would hit me when I realized there was one behind me as well. It was incredibly thrilling.

Throughout the entire trip they kept coming back to visit us. Each time I felt a little braver towards them. I touched one of their tails and then petted one on the back. It felt very slimy from the algae and you could see scars from boat motors that have hit them. Every once in a while they would stick their noses above the water. I loved being right there in the water with them. One of the girls let me use her snorkel to look at them properly underneath the water. They are so huge and beautiful! I felt so connected to nature as I watched them make their way through the water.

Shortly after that we pulled our kayaks back into the water and paddled back to the rental shop. The trip back was a little more difficult because the tide had pulled in so new sandbars had appeared and also the afternoon boat traffic was heavier than in the morning.

Once we made it back we all rinsed off and then went to a restaurant for some food. Once we had eaten everyone was ready for a nap! I tried cuban sangria for the first time which has cinnamon in it. It was really good! Then again, I tend to like all things cinnamon.