ever since i was a little kid i’ve been fascinated with manatees.  my mom and i used to go to the
aquarium in SF and i’d make a dash to that large corner tank in the back that had one lone manatee swimming around.  occasionally it would be feeding time and some really lucky employee got to get in the tank and feed the manatee a head of lettuce.  i used to think that was the coolest thing ever, feeding a head of lettuce to a manatee. i was five.

my love for the manatee stayed with me throughout my life and whenever i went to a aquarium or sea life park i’d always look for one.  not a popular attraction the manatee.  it’s not like they do anything except roll over and wave their little flipper at you.

someone once gave me a gift of a manatee adoption through the Save the Manatee Club.  i am the adoptive parent of a manatee named Brutus and he lives in Florida at Blue Spring State Park.  i thought that was an awesome gift and i in turn adopted a couple of manatees for friends of mine as a wedding gift.  yes, they were fond of manatees as well, it wasn’t just some random gift.

last week i went to visit Florida for the first time and the #1 item on my sightseeing list, see a manatee.  although it would be great to swim with one, i decided i would be happy just to see one in the wild.   my goal was met during a kayak trip to Manatee Cove on Merritt Island.

there were five of us on the trip and there were about a dozen manatees in this little cove, just hanging out.  from a distance they look like rocks in the water, until they move.  they were super curious and playful and wanted to get close to the kayaks.  although they are big, they aren’t scary at all, and really you just want to reach out and scratch their bellies which they constantly put on display for you.

manatees, still one of my all time favorite creatures, and i’m so happy that i was able to see so many of them.  maybe one day i will get to Blue Spring Park and meet Brutus in person.