In Search of the Elusive Manatees

See those gray things in the water? They are the elusive manatees heading up the natural springs for winter.

And here is the not-so-nice sign that greeted us at the Blue Springs State Park

Day Two on the House Boat:

We are heading up the St. John's River on our house boat with eyes glued to the water. "Come out manatees, show yourselves," Kate calls out. "Come out gators." I know, I know. I wouldn't call them out either, but she's from Detroit and not afraid of gangs and driveby shootings. So why would a little old gator worry her?

Alas, all we have seen so far are herons, egrets and turtles. But they are everywhere. As we sit in the lap of house boat luxury, we are in the middle of nature.

"Are you sure they didn't warn you about water moccasins," I asked Kenny.

"NO," he says for the 1000th time as he attempts to make sense of the map the marina gave us to navigate. Our destination is the Blue Springs State Park, which is the winter haven for the endangered manatee. It's supposedly close by. We make it in just over one hour. Now comes the question of how we get off this beast. I'm still convinced there are water moccasins in the water. But instead, I find this sign about alligators.

The manatees migrate to the springs during the winter (yeah because under 80 degrees is winter down to these southerners) because the water is always 72 degrees. We saw 6 manatees rolling lazily as they made their way up the clear waters of the spring.