I live less than an hour from one of the most beautiful state parks in the country. Today I decided it had been far too long since my last visit, so I remedied that problem with a trip to Wakulla Springs State Park.
No trip to the springs is complete without a boat ride through the park, and while I’ve had some great experiences in the past, today’s visit surely topped them all. Just to start the trip I took these two photos of a mama manatee and her calf.
That’s mom in picture one. I’ll call her”Madonna of the Springs,” and the one with baby, I’ve dubbed “Blissful Innocence.”
I missed the chance to snap a shot as they went beneath our boat directly in front of my first row seat. My goal was to capture them both in the same shot, but that wasn’t to be. But that’s ok. Not many things make me as happy as manatees do.
The remainder of my photos from the trip need to be edited a bit before I share. If I don’t take a nap I might do that editing this afternoon. Most of the bets are on the nap.
Peace, people.
Wow!!!!
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Aren’t they awesome?!
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So gorgeous! I need to get back up that way again for a vacation.
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The alligators are in mating season, so we were privy to some aggressive displays of territoriality! It was awesome.
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I’m so envious!
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I’ve seen manatees before, but never this close up and in water so clear. I almost cried.
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Wonderful!
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Thank you! It was such a treat to see them so close up.
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Fascinating
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They are the gentlest of creatures.
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I love manatees, too. Haven’t been to FL in a while, though.
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They’re wonderful. I used to have a stuffed manatee named Pedro. I used him as a backrest on my motorcycle.
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I can just imagine, Leslie!
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His little flippers waved at people we passed.
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