Sunday, March 13, 2016

Orlando Vacation: Tampa Day Trip

Hey you guys! As promised I'm back with a bonus post for my trip to visit my friend in Orlando.  We packed a lot into Friday and we had such an amazing time. We decided to take a mini road trip to Tampa on Friday to check it out and I was able to see some really beautiful animals!

So where did we go that I've been hinting at? It's the Manatee Viewing Center by the Tampa Electric Company! I'm always weary of any type of "Viewing Center" for animals as I'm sure all of us are because contributing to animal exploitation is definitely not something I'm interested in. This "Viewing Center" is basically a platform for people to view a naturally occurring event. During the winter months when the weather is cold, the manatees seek warmer waters which they find in the canal by the Electric Company. The viewing center is essentially a platform so you can see these amazing animals in person. What I did appreciate was a clear effort made by the volunteers there to educate people to NOT interact with these animals which means no feeding, no touching or petting or anything else that would disrupt their lives. I felt comfortable with what it was and a little known fact is that manatees are my absolute favorite animals!! They are so freaking adorable, gentle and sweet and I was so excited to see them! Oh and another thing is if they are there you see them, if they aren't, you don't. This is a clear sign that to me that there is no captivity situation so it also helped ease my fears.

So in today's post I will be showing you some pictures that I got! I had to narrow down so not to post a million of the same thing but I hope you enjoy! I was so happy while I was there :)


This was the platform entrance! How cute are they?! I can't. And how beautiful was that day? We were so lucky.


There were a lot of these cuties in the area that day. We were lucky because it has been quite warm but we were catching the end of the season. I heard that as you head into April you don't get to see them much. You can see a ton of them under the water. There was a mama and her baby there too. I couldn't get a great shot but trust me when I say they were freaking adorable.


Here you seen one coming up for a breath. I just can't with the cuteness. I was really happy that we were able to get there and that they were around that day! We really lucked out!


Do you guys have painted animal statues around your town? I've seen horses around where I live and they had a cute painted manatee there. Too cute!


You could walk down the pier along the canal and I grabbed this picture of the view of where you get out more into the open water. Such a beautiful day.


Here we have the end of the pier. They had another trail that you could walk but we didn't get a chance to check it out.

So there you have it, our trip to see the manatees! I was so happy to see them and we had such a great time! 

Have a great weekend :)



8 comments:

  1. I love Manatees too. So glad they arent bothered by the observers. That was a nice excursion to take. Hope you get back to Florida again sooner rather than later.

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    1. Yes, there is a good amount of space between us and the manatees. They were so cute, I was so happy that we were able to go.

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  2. I also love manatees! This seems like a natural way to see manatees, and also learn something! Seems like an awesome day! There are some animal statues around Seattle. I know there are probably some really awesome ones downtown, I must get down there soon!

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    1. Aren't they so cute?! I love manatees so much. It was a great day for sure :)

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  3. Yay! Mantees are so cool. A few years ago, a manatee was spotted in Mississippi River near Memphis — WAY out of its natural area, like hundreds of miles away from where manatees are supposed to be. No one knew how it got here, but the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Coast Guard tried to capture it so it could be transported back to warmer waters. But they couldn't catch it, and the poor thing died and washed up on shore a few weeks later. Very sad!!

    Also, we have painted horse statues all over too! And painted Tigers (for the University of Memphis Tigers).

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    1. Awww the poor thing!! They were endangered but their numbers have been increasing which is a great thing! Awww I'd love to see the painted tigers!

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  4. How cool! I've never seen a manatee, what an amazing experience! It looks like you had a great trip, I hope it rejuvenated and warmed you as we weather the last few days of winter!

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    1. It was definitely a great trip, we were very sad when it ended. Truthfully I've had a hard time readjusting back into my routine... even A few weeks later.

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