Wiggle and tug to don a wetsuit. I gotta say; these things are not figure flattering! Strap on the mask and goggles, grab a floaty noodle and down the ladder we go into the Homosassa River. Nothing. Just the slow realization that 70 degree water is soaking into the wetsuit. Brr. We floated and paddled a little in the direction the boat captain suggested.
Then, it took my breath away. Right beside us appeared a wrinkled, whiskery nose followed by a very large bulbous body with a pretty large paddle of a tail attached. The manatees were right beside us. They blew out breaths like mini whales then submerged sometimes in a slow motion power dive out of sight and sometimes just to loll along the surface right beside us. They really liked Kent the best. He had a number of very close encounters.

My favorite close up
I was floating calmly waiting for another manatee to make an appearance. From below appeared first a nose. Then the wrinkly but kind of cute face. It just rose up from the bottom of the river sort of like a cloud or a bubble. Effortlessly. On an angle that brought it just inches from my face. The bubbles from its exhale tickled my ears. We both just floated there for a few, just sharing some space. It quietly went on its way. Surreal.

My least favorite close up
The manatee swam right at 90 degrees from me so it approached my side. It started a very shallow dive and I felt it glide against my wetsuit as it went just beneath me. I kept thinking I hope it doesn’t need to take a breath right now. I gasped and sputtered through my snorkel and had to force myself to lie still so I wouldn’t kick it. Very unnerving…still cool.

I guess I looked more like a manatee in the wet suit, or I looked more relaxed or… I don’t know but, I seemed to get more close encounters than Lynn.
I had one big fella that came up slightly under me and gave me a pretty good chest bump. Guess he has been watching sports or something.
I had a baby (300-500 lbs) that seemed to be mesmerized at my mask and face. He kept getting closer and closer and smiled with the big toothy grin they do when they open their big upper lip and you can see their teeth. Not scary teeth but, after the chest bump I flinched and put an arm out to shield off the face to face impact. He gently moved on.
A third one just pulled up alongside and brushed my arm and sat there for a while. Him/her surfacing for an occasional breath and me sucking hard to draw air through the snorkel like it was too small of bore.
Another one came up from the depths and rolled over on it’s back as it went past. Don’t know if I was supposed to scratch his tummy or not but I held fast to the rules and did not move as he twisted and turned. The captain said he had never seen one do a head out of the water spiral before.
The encounters went on for about an hour before it was time to go back to the boat. Even with a wetsuit an hour of nearly stationary immersion was starting to chill or was it the adrenalin causing the trembling? In either case this is a definite “You gotta try this” adventure. We went out with Captain Pete at River Safaris and Gulf Charters in Homosassa, FL. Great guy and a well run operation. Sorry, it will be a few weeks before we get pictures since I used a real film camera underwater.

U.S. Government fort built by slave labor.
It is a bizarre thought. Fort Pickens is a huge brick fortress that was built by slaves whose owners farmed them out to the government contractor who built the fort that was later critical in the defense of Pensacola Bay against the confederates. I don’t think I ever saw mention of that in any history class.
Geronimo
Apache Indians. Prominent Pensacola citizens petitioned and won to get Geronimo moved from Fort Marion to Fort Pickens to be a tourist attraction. Unbelievable.
Homeland security
Huge concrete bunkers and gun batteries buried into the dunes of barrier islands and pointed out to sea. It is interesting to see how the defenses have changed over the years. Through it all, it is pretty clear where they felt the threat was coming from.

The navy had a live oak preserve and nursery.  They grew and protected the oaks that were essential for ship building.  The area is now part of theGulfIslandnational seashore so we checked it out.  They actually chose specific parts of the tree for various ship fame components to maximize strength.  “Canon balls bounced off” they say.  No wonder they were so protective of these great trees.  Hopefully we will continue to be even without the need for wooden ships!

As the sun began to set, first one croak, joined by another, answered by another, joined by clicks, grunts more croaks and all manner of odd noises. There is an intra-dunal pond right next to our camp site. The evening concerts are amazing. The sound swells louder then softens as creatures join in then fall silent. It expands and contracts as it moves from a broad, scrambled cacophony of seemingly unrelated noises to organized rhythms and melodies that collapse back into chaos. Cool.

The Krewe of Neptune and the Gulf Coast Carnival Association combined parade.  We joined crowds they estimate at 100,000 to cheer on some 30 or so floats launching all manner of throws.  We carried home a huge pile of beads and fun toys.

We found a King Cake.  It was delicious and even had a baby in it.  Tradition says now we have to throw the next Mardi Gras party.  Hmm.

There were lots of teens at the parade. What is it with young teenage girls and underwear (scanty panties) worn outside of their clothes? Maybe it is a Mardi Gras thing? Is it a broader fad? I saw one article online that says it’s a fad in Michigan too. It IS attention getting.

It is a bright beautiful morning.  One final set of parades this afternoon to close out our Mardi Gras celebrating.