Tampa Vacation Part II

Our stop on Thursday afternoon was at The Florida Aquarium! This was totally worth the money...lots of cool stuff. It has all the fun stuff you'd expect to see at an aquarium plus a totally cool Florida section with fish, birds and reptiles from our area. We saw the CUTEST river otters playing with each other and doing flips and stuff. They were just adorable! We sat in on a "shark talk" and learned more than we thought we would about sharks. We also found out that the aquarium will be featured in an episode during Shark Week coming up soon! (I love Shark Week...check your local listings.)

The two old folks having a rest.

Got a good shot of this bird. It was amazing how close you could get to the animals...just one reach over the divider and you could touch them. Of course, we didn't...not even Joey did! LOL

On Friday morning we went canoeing on the Weeki Watchee River. This was by far the most fun we did the whole trip!! My first time, and I was a little nervous (cold, deep water always makes me a bit anxious). Well, it was only deep in parts, most was shallow enough to see the bottom of the river. This river is spring fed, which means it is clear water and usually stays at a constant temperature of 74 degrees. Burr!!

Here's picture (I didn't take it because I forgot my camera!!!). We saw some wild life too...birds, fish, a very small snake, a turtle and A MANATEE!!! Yes, a manatee swam right past our canoe, he even came up for a breath so we got a real good look at him (ok, could have been a "her", who knows). I was really kicking myself for forgetting the camera. And in case you're wondering...Justine forgot her camera, too. I can't believe it either!!

So Mike, Justine and I were in one canoe and Joey and Veronica, in a second one. Those two were so funny, trying to establish who was in charge, who was supposed to do what...they finally figured it out and it worked out quite well. We parked the canoes a couple times to wade in the water and have a snack. It really was peaceful and beautiful. Not too many other folks on the river, which we can only attribute to it being a weekday. It was quiet and relaxing because the current of the river was at about walking speed, so very comfortable for taking our time. The company we went through for the rental was great...no frills mind you, but polite and efficient (they carried the canoes, put them in the water, helped us in and shoved us off...I didn't even get my feet wet). They were right there to get us at the end (same as above, but in reverse). We'll do this again soon!

That's it! We drove home and upon our arrival Gracie when so nuts I thought she was gonna explode.