Swimming with the Manatee

Way back in like April there was a Groupon deal for Swimming with the Manatee.  I was pretty sure we needed to do that and convinced PJ I needed to make that purchase.  When I called to book they informed me that the colder the water the better and that if I wanted to actually see the manatee I should come in December.  So I booked our adventure for the first weekend in December... and waited... many months.  But finally the time came.  After PJ got home from work on Friday we made the drive down to Crystal River Florida.
We spent the night at the hotel and were ready to go first thing in the morning! 

We were suppose to be there early.  They got us our gear... getting the wetsuits on the kids was quite the adventure itself and took most of the time... especially with Brynn.  And somehow as PJ was doing the struggle with Brynn he managed to scrap the skin off of half of his knuckles (?!?).  But after about 1/2 hour the job was done ;)  We settled in to watch the informational video and then we headed down to the docks to meet up with Captain Jolly Roger. 

It was just Capt Roger and the 6 of us on his pontoon boat - loved that!  Especially as we saw the "cattle herding" boats with tons of tourists on them.  He was very nice and taught us so much.

We made one little stop not to far out to "practice" the art of quietly snorkling with the noodles and keeping our feet out of the water.  Apparently the boys were naturals.  Brynn was unsure of the muddy bottom and was told to get back in the boat.  And Kate wasn't thrilled with the temperature of the water (her small wetsuit was still a little loose and let too much water in), but while the boys went out exploring, she and I practiced her snorkeling technique.

We saw many manatee from inside the boat - all sizes, from baby size to massive size.

Then Preston attempted to take the older three out further away from the boat.  It was all going swimmingly until a rather large manatee swam directly under them.  Brynn had a freak out moment which caused her to claw and climb on top of dad, which then pushed dad down on top of the manatee (oops, that was a no-no, you are barely allowed to touch them let alone ride on one).  So she got sent right back to the boat... she willingly obeyed.  The boys carried on - they had a good system where each of the boys held one of daddy's legs as they moved along.  They also found a really cool spot where the fish were everywhere and they thought that was awesome.

I've struggled with snorkeling.  I tried it when Preston & I went to Hawaii.  I grasped the breathing technique quickly and easily and had no problem with that.  But I do have an apparent psychological problem with the idea of things "touching me".  So I knew it would be questionable whether or not I would be able to get out of the boat and into the water with the manatee.  I really really wanted to, just wasn't sure how it would go.  However, the wetsuit did amazing things for my psyche.  Since I was fully covered "things" couldn't actually touch "me".  So I was good to go!  I apparently need to invest in a wetsuit of my very own so I can snorkel and do all sorts of fun things now :)

It was a two hour cruise.  We enjoyed it.  We also enjoyed getting the wetsuits off as much as we did getting them on ;)

Then we got in the car to make the 5 1/2 hour drive back home.  We arrived at 5:45pm.  We were suppose to be at Preston's work Christmas party that started at 6pm.  So I was given 30 minutes to shower and get ready while Preston bathed the kids and himself.  Then we were off - thankfully it was on Base and the kids were going to the kids club there.  It was a Christmas Masquarade party...

Whew! Fun, adventurous, and super exhausting day :) The best kind!!!