January 17, 2024 - I Forgot About Another Day When We Went to See the Manatees

In the last blog I failed to include a day we spent with Jim and Renee observing the Manatees at the Manatee Preserve in Apollo, Beach. The cold weather causes the Manatees to congregate around the warm water coming out of the electric generating plant. Here are some pictures. I am sure there were at least a hundred gathered there.

The place was really crowded. Obviously a lot of other people realized the cold weather would bring the Manatees into the area.

After our fill of watching the Manatees we went down below to a pool they had where you could pet the Stingrays as they swam by. Here is a picture of Renee touching one. They have a slimy feel to them.

We have been to the preserve several times over the years but this time was the best viewing ever. So cool.

From Apollo Beach we drove to Bradenton for lunch at "Linger Lodge". I didn't take any pictures. The place was owned by a taxidermist at one time and anything you can imagine is in there stuffed. Our lunch was great. I was shocked to see that the old, crappy RV Park that had been there was gone and replaced with an entirely new, upscale park. It had full hookups and concrete streets and pads. Unfortunately it was fenced and gated so we couldn't go in to take any pictures. It is a very nice RV Park now.