Friday, December 23, 2011

Manatees!!! Well.....almost.....

As we get ready for the Holidays, my family is also preparing for our upcoming Manatee Trip through Divers Incorporated.  This is an amazing trip!  The first time I snorkeled with the manatees was 6 1/2 years ago when I was pregnant with Natalie & Olivia!  I have been fortunate enough to make this trip several times after, and I had incredible interactions with the manatees each time!  They are SUPER friendly, and will come right up and investigate you!  Some will even roll over on their backs to get a belly scratch!


This will be Natalie and Olivia's first time snorkeling with the Manatees (outside the womb...lol!)  They have practiced at White Star Quarry this summer to make sure they can snorkel.  They were fish (not that we expected much different!)!  They have taken swim lessons for years, and swim amazingly!  They just had to get the hang of breathing through a snorkel, using fins, and wearing a mask.  It took a bit, and thankfully Daddy is an instructor, and has the patience of a saint, but they eventually had the hang of it.


The picture above is of Natalie (left) and Olivia (right) trying on their gear to make sure they hadn't outgrown anything in the past couple of months!  In a few short days, we will begin our trek to Crystal River to enjoy interacting with these gentle giants!  We are driving from Michigan to Crystal River......fortunately, most of the trip will be during the night while the girls are sleeping! 


As our trip goes along, I will post updates and more pictures.  They girls are getting dSLRs for Christmas (we got 2 first generation Canon rebels at an AMAZING deal) so they will be able to record the trip from their point of view also!  


STAY TUNED!!