Swimming with the Manatees

This past weekend was a really great weekend. Friday, we went to hang out with some new friends, Chuck and Keith. Their house is AWESOME! I was a little jealous, I will admit. Saturday, we drove north 3 hours to Crystal River, FL to swim with the manatees. I first read about this in the book "1000 places to see before you die" and it sounded like something I definetly wanted to do while I was here in Florida. We stayed at a Best Western right on the water and next to the dive shop that would take us out Sunday morning for our snorkeling trip. While we were sitting on the boat dock, drinking a beer, we met a nice couple (Chad and Stacy) with their 2 year old son, Wade, on a pontoon boat. They invited us out for a short cruise around the manatee sanctuary area and we accepted. They turned out to be really nice and we had a great little boat trip. The sunset was beautiful. We even saw a few dolphins. The next morning we set out for the manatees. As it turned out, the Crystal River, which is fed mostly by springs, was not crystal clear. Visibility was aweful. The poor visibility, loud children, and lots of other tourists snorkeling led to a less than favorable manatee swimming experience. No matter, I saw a few and we had a good time anyway. This is what I was hoping for:


This is what I got:

NOTHING

well, almost nothing. I saw a lot of green water and a few glipses of manatee. Oh well, better luck next time...