"The Great Manatee Adventure"1/11/09

Cody:About 4 days ago my friend Davin, who I went to school with in California and is now working in Alaska, called me and told me that he was going to be in Florida for a couple days with a friend. We imediatelly worked out a way to see each other and he told me that they were going to go snorkeling with the manatees in Crystal River which was only 1.5 hrs from orlando. Erika and I only had minimal classes that day and decided that we were going to drive and see the manatees with them. We had to be at the dive shop at 7am and since we were a little over 1.5hrs away, we had another early morning to look forward to. The alarms started buzzing at 4am and we were on the road by 4:30am. The roads are very enjoyable at 4:30 in the morning, there seems to be a sense of adventure that can't be experienced in any other capacity. After we arrived at the dive shop, Davin and Ashley were already there getting checked in, so we followed their lead and signed in, payed our money and then waited around until the entire group showed up. We talked to the owner of the dive shop for a while who was a retired commercial diver. We found out that he helped move a German submarine (U-505) to Chicago where it is now on display and you can actually walk through it in a tour. This was the same submarine that I personally walked through when I was a child and we visited my moms brother, Paul who lives in Chicago. He also worked with Carl Brashear, an african american navy diver who lost his left leg in an atomic bomb incident in the 1950's, and who was the inspiration for the movie "Men of Honor".

After talking with the old "salty dog" we had to watch a movie on Manatee conservation and interaction that must have been made near the beggining of time cause it was very old and very cheesy, but it was very informative and gave us the information we needed to interact with the manatees in a safe manner. We were told how to approach the animals, when to leave them alone, and that we were only allowed to touch them with one hand because touching them with two hands is considered "riding" them. After the video, we followed the divemaster to the docks and loaded the large pontoon boat and headed out to search for some manatee's. While we were idling around the river in what seemed to be a wild goose chase, the divemaster was telling us all about the "west indian manatee" and how to spot one from the boat. We finally spotted one and started moving toward it, and it quickly moved away from us. So the divemaster got in the water to try and find some himself. After a couple of minutes, he yelled back to the boat and said that he found some manatee's and told us to get into the water and swim over to him. Davin was the first in the water and I was second in the water because we both had big bulky cameras that had to come with us. After I had gotten into the water, I was waiting for erika and checking my camera to make sure everything was working properly. Suddenly I felt my fin hit something hard, which startled me a bit. I looked down and directly under me was a 6 or 7 ft manatee gliding through the water with not a care in the world. After everyone got in the water we swam over to the divemaster where he was playing with a mother and her calf. The mother was just sleeping at the bottom of the river, but the juvenile was very playful and would come right up to us and let us rub his belly and back. He would roll over and over with very playful gestures, and every so often he would swim back to his mother for a reasuring nudge and then return to us for some more belly scratching. The water was only 6 or 7 ft deep and the bottom of the river was very silty, which meant that as soon as people started standing up and kicking the bottom, the visibility got very poor very quickly. We only had a couple of minutes to get good, clear pictures and then the visibility was so bad that shooting our cameras was only catching fuzzy images.

We discovered that there were 7 or 8 manatees in the area that we were in, so the 10 of us all split up and would go observe in different areas until we got sick of that spot and moved to another. The manatee's were not quite as playful as we had hoped but it was still a great experience to be able to play with these wild creatures who had no fear towards humans and let us play with them in their environment. After about 2 hrs we all got back into the boat and drove back to the dock. We started driving back to orlando and grabbed something to eat on the way, and after another 1.5 hr trip were back home where we all sat by the pool for a couple hrs and then Davin and Ashley had to drive to Key Largo for the rest of their trip.

Erika: The manatees reminded me of eeyore from winne the pooh. Their faces looked like they had many years behind them--even the baby. They were friendly, and their body gave them no other choice but to be docile. Our guide reminded us that they lack one vertebrae that would allow them to turn their neck to see who or what was behind them...So they slowly and move there whole body pivoting just one of there small fins(compared to there massive bodies) in a circle to turn around. After the 2hrs in the water we were getting pretty chilly...so we left with the wisdom of a manatee :D Don't move to fast, everytime is the right time for a nap, and between napping and eating seagrass PLAY.

The boat ride out to the manatee's

Erika thought she saw a shark... but it wasnt!
Erika seemed quite suprised by the temperature of the water (72deg)
Erika floating in the water with rays of sunshine piercing the water
Our first manatee, she was quite large

Mother and Calf sunning themselves.

I just had to touch it...

Mother sleeping while her calf played with us.

Still sleeping, they seem to be quite lazy creatures.

Erika and I

Us again...

and again...

Marathon Day

Well, we must look at the bright side of this day... neither erika or I pooped blood and we both still have all of our toe nails, so really the marathon was a great sucess.

Waking up at 2:15am was quite the shock to our bodies, which are used to getting up around 8am (sometimes a little earlier for erika, she is the early riser), but we pulled our sleepless bodies out of our beds and proceded to grab a quick bite to eat. We laxidasically threw our bags into the car and started our 30min drive to WDW (walt disney world) where we would continue this little adventure.
As we pulled into the park we were directed to a parking spot which happened to be very close to the porta-potties, which were consumed with what seemed to be every single racer trying to get one last shot at a real bathroom (more to come on that later).

After making our pit stop, we snapped a quick picture to show the medical staff if they needed to identify our bodies, luckily they never had to use it.

Our friend Barb signed up for the marathon quite some time ago and then decided not to run it. She said that I could take her spot so a couple monthes ago I tried to transfer my name onto her number. They were very strict and would not let me make the switch. So I just had Barb pick up her number on thursday and I wore it. The only problem was that this year, they decided to put everyones name on their race number. So i am walking around wearing a number that says "Barbara" in big black letters. Knowing that if they caught me I would not be able to race, I performed some strategic moves and finally made it into the staging area where I knew I was safe from the power happy volunteers who might remove me from the marathon, leaving Erika alone to run by herself.

When we got into the staging area, there were two escort golf carts who led us the .6 miles to the corrals and the start line. Considering that there were almost 22,000 people who were tired and not quite awake yet following this stranger in a cart made Erika feel like we were all being led to a slaughter. She was quite right, even though no one died, the annihilation of our legs was well on its way. As we arrived at the corrals where all of the racers were seperated into letter groups according to their predicted finish time, I guess its just an easy way to insure that you are running with people who are at the same level as you are. The corrals were labeled "A" through "H", A being the fastest runners and H being the slowest. We were in corral G, which put us toward the back of the group but that was ok because we were just happy to be there. About 30min before the the start of the race, we noticed people jumping the fence made of netting and running over to a small field and just standing there. It was only 4:30am and considerably dark so it took us a little while to figure out what everyone was doing, until there was one brave woman who ran out as well. Her movements were much more defined, as she ran out to the field, pulled down her shorts and squated down right in the middle of the men, it did not take much immagination to realize that she must not have had a chance to stop at the porta-potties. Watching all of these people relieve themselves made me feel the urge to follow the masses, so I jumped over the fence and ran out a little ways, looked to my left where there was an older gentlement and then to my right where a middle aged woman was squating and doing her business. After my respite I ran back to the corral and held Erikas drink while she integrated herself with the rest of the urinators.

We finally heard the start gun fire and with a slightly impressive display of pyrotechnics we were off...well, we werent actually moving yet, but after about 10min of taking teeny tiny baby steps and progressing through the shute that led us over the starting line and into our first of 26.2 miles, we were able to begin a slow trot.

The first 5 miles were quite enjoyable, the air was cool and the sun had not even awakened yet. The terrain was nice and all of the people were friendly and kind. We just settled into our pace and started watching all of the people around us. Many were running in memory of friends and family, i specifically remember a guy about my age who had written on the back of his shirt, "In loving memory of nanny... 1-8-09", this guy had lost someone just three days before, and was still out there running. People dressed in fairy wings and kilts, some in "goofy" hats and many in mickey mouse ears. A small population donned their wizard hats before the run and one guy wore nothing but a spedo. One woman dressed as Maleficent from sleeping beauty and another carried an american flag the whole way. Standing on the side of the road was a woman holding a sign that read "You are all Kenyans on the inside".

As we approached mile 10, we could see cinderellas castle and much of the rest of the park. At mile 10.5 we ran through the castle and continued through the park where all of the characters were dressed and waiting to take pictures with any passing by runners. One might think that someone would be crazy to stop in the middle of a marathon to take a picture, but many had the desire to have this memorable moment caught on film and sometimes waited for up to 15min in line to get their pictures taken, then filed back into the group and kept on running.

Having names on all of our race numbers made it easy for spectators to cheer for individual people, calling out "Go john ", or Sam or Cindy and many times I heard the name Erika, but never Barbara. I think they were not quite sure what to make of a man running with a womans name. We would always hear "You guys can do it, Go Erika and.... Um, ...Good job!". Finally one of the announcers saw my name and said over the loud speaker, "You dont look like a Barbara!", I just yelled back "High school was really tough for me ", he got a kick out of that and we kept running.

At mile 18, things started getting a little less fun and a lot more serious. As our feet started to bruise and we began to feel the first signs of shin splints, we knew the next few miles were going to be quite the ride. We pushed through the next couple minutes but at 22 miles our feet hurt so bad that we could barely take a step without making a strange groaning noise, our shins were shuttering with every stride of impact, and our backs were so sore that we kept chainging our posture to accomidate the pain, looking like old bobble head dolls.

Finally after 5hrs, 55min and 10sec of running we were finished. We did it, no more running, no more pain, just rest and water. We got our medals and grabbed some food and headed straight for the bathrooms.

After resting our weary legs, we snapped a couple pictures and headed home where sleep was heavy on our minds.

Erika looks very excited here, mainly because we were done running but also because she knew that we had just accomplished something that less than one tenth of one percent of the worlds population has ever done themselves.

Day 5: Bahia Honda State Park, Fl Keys 10/28/08

We woke up this morning to very cold temperatures for the Keys. It was in the low 50's and windy. It was a great surprise to have weather that required a long sleeve shirt, but unfortunately Erika was the only one prepared. After donning her extra sweater (I looked quite foolish), we packed up camp and checked out at the rangers station. The trip home was sad and neither of us wanted the trip to be over but such is life and we have other obligations here in Orlando. So until our next adventure, we will make the best of what God has given us here in FL.

Day 4: Bahia Honda State Park, Fl Keys 10/27/08

After a good nights sleep we woke up to a cold, windy and cloudy morning. Although the sun was prescribed all day, he decided that a lazy morning was due, so he just slept in. Since it was so cold we decided not to get in the water and headed back down to the south end of the island. We walked up onto the old bahia honda bridge, which used to be part of the Florida East Coast Railway build by Henry Flagler in 1912. After the labor day hurricane of 1935 destroyed most of the bridge and gave the broken railway the nickname "Flaglers Folly", the foundations became the basis for the current overseas highway "US-1". We walked around a little more until Erika found some dangerous things to climb, I took a picture and then went my own way because I did not want to be there to whitness her falling.
After lunch, the sun awoke from his lengthly slumber, poked his head out from behind the clouds, gave us a great big smile and came out to play. We went for one last snorkel, then came back to shore in search for sea beans.


After we took some pictures and walked around a little while, the sun was heading back down towards the horizon and the clouds were lining up for what appeared to be a great sunset. I was wrong, it was MAGNIFICENT!!.
After a long walk to the bridge, we arrived just intime to see the last few min of the sun setting behind the bridge.


After the sun had completely set and it was dark enough that we could only see car headlights, we made our way back to the camp for some more rest before our long trip back to Orlando.

Day 3: Bahia Honda State Park, Fl Keys 10/26/08

After another hot and rainy night, the sun was finally shining in all of his glory. We made breakfast out of eggs and beans, which might sound a tad bland but was actually very delicious. We had to change campsites so we started breaking down the camp, which was just one tent. This only took a few min. so we headed down to the rangers station to make the switch but apparently were early. Our new campsite was still occupied so he told us to come back in a few hrs and it should be open. We went down to the little store to try some of their famous root beer that our dean of housing told us was the best root beer in FL. He was wrong, it was the best root beer in the entire world. It was creamy and drifted down your throat like a mud slide of carbonated goodness. After our soda adventures we walked to the south end of the island, where Erika saw her first wild iguana, and snorkeled for a bit, then layed on the beach until we were supposed to be back at the rangers station. After a long process of waiting on our campsite we discovered that a site right next to our old one had just opened up, which was a blessing because we really liked that side of the island.

As soon as we got to the campsite, I snapped a quick picture and we headed back out to snorkel. The sun was out and the water was clear so we had high hopes that we would see some great sea life. Erika saw her first octopus and shortly after that, a ramora started following us. Erika seemed a little aprehensive about this strange looking fish following us so closely, so I explained that they wont hurt, but they might suck onto your leg for a free ride. This was almost like giving the thing permission to attatch itself to Erika. After a couple hrs of snorkeling, and Erika giving this ramora a free ride, we decided to head back in where Erika drew on the beach and I just watched the ocean. We waited for the sun to go down and then made dinner. With food in our bellies and fully saturated with sun, we headed to bed.

Day 2: Bahia Honda State Park, FL Keys 10/25/08

Waking up has never been such a joy, a cool breeze accompanied by the early morning sun pulled us out of the tent.
After collecting some shells on the beach, that was only 20ft from our campsite, we decided to go back to Marathon and get some groceries.After returning to camp we had a quick bite to eat, then headed out into the water for some snorkeling. The water was cold so we only stayed for an hour, then made our way back into shore. We were excited to have collected a couple conche shells and some other unidentified ones as well. We dried off and went to take showers in the luxurious bathrooms that were provided by the park. We had decided to make a trip to Key West at some point and considering that the sun was playing hide and go seek in the clouds, we figured that this would be the day to do it. Earlier I had talked to a park ranger and he said that there was something called "Fantasy Fest" going on this weekend and there was a parade tonight in Key West. I thought to myself, Fantasy Fest huh? This must be a bunch of Harry Potter and Star Wars weirdos running around Key West dressed in their best imitation costumes. Once we arrived and found a parking spot, which was an adventure in itself, we started walking towards downtown. We came upon a man wearing nothing but a 4inch by 4inch piece of mesh cloth covering his private area, I tried to think of what Harry Potter character this was and my mind seemed to be drawing a blank. I quickly realized that this was not the kind of Fantasy that I had imagined, it was sexual fantasy. The deeper we got into town the stranger the people were dressed and the less clothing they were wearing all together. After Erika and I got invited to take a shower with an older couple we decided that it was time to get out of there.
We stopped by the Ernest Hemingway house, seeing as he is one of Erika's favorite authors, for a quick picture and then decided to grab a bite to eat before we left. We ate fast, and drove north even faster. Getting out of this present day "sodom and gomorrah" was our only thought, so returning to our beautiful, quiet, clothes friendly island was very nice.
The sun had already set but we were tired anyway and only wanted some rest from the days activities. So straight to bed we went with tired bodies and exhausted eyes.

Day 1: Bahia Honda State Park, FL Keys 10/24/08

Erika and I decided a couple of weeks ago to try and plan a trip to the Keys for our October break, with many hurdles to jump over we finally made all of the necessary arrangements for our rendezvous with the southern most state park in the continental US, Bahia Honda. We planned on leaving on friday around 2pm, so naturally we pulled out of orlando around 5pm (just to start the trip out with a bang). After a long 7hr drive down the FL turnpike, and paying more money than the state knows what to do with in tolls, we arrived in the keys. Night had fallen upon us quite sometime before but the city lights had kept us on our desired path. As soon as we left Marathon, and boarded the famous 7 mile bridge everything got dark, real dark. The water was only a few feet below us, yet there was no sign of it anywhere. There was no moon to light our way, and only a few scattered street lights to suggest our whereabouts. Knowing the water was there was not enough, we wanted proof, we wanted to see it. And without warning, just at the moment we needed it the most, a powerful flash, igniting the entire ocean, atlantic and gulf both. This was just what we needed and just when we needed it. We finally got to our campsite and just as we stepped out of the car, what started falling from the sky but those little drops of liquid that makes everything more interesting. Rain seems to make the process of setting up a tent more hasty and less enjoyable than it should be. As we crawled into the tent there were hundreds of little sand mites that were attracted to our lights and followed us inside. So all night long there were tiny bugs jumping from limb to limb and permitting us little sleep.