In case you are wondering, that is me, and swimming next to me is a genuine Florida manatee, possibly the gentlest and most amazing creature to ever glide through the crystal clear waters of the Homosassa River.
This year, I finally managed to get Dave something that he really wanted and really liked for Christmas. (No small feat, I can assure you). I took him on a See the Manatees tour, which put us smack dab in the middle of a group of 6-8 manatees. We followed all the rules carefully, and never chased or bothered them in any way. We just let them come to us, and the result was unbeliveable. These magnificent creatures swam all around us, allowed us the gentlest of touches, and generally amazed us with their immense size yet gentle natures. They were more curious about us, I think. In the end, as we tried to get back on the boat, they blocked our path because they wanted us to keep rubbing their bellies. The more attention we gave them, the more they wanted. It was an incredible experience, one that left us in awe and respect of these wonderful creatures. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend trying it for yourself. It's the thrill of a lifetime.
Now let's talk about the holidays. I have but one word to describe them -- WHEW! We ended up spending 3 days driving from house to house, trying to squeeze in as many people as we could for some quality holiday time, and in the end, we were exhausted. But, we were able to do many important things while in town, including taking Big Dave's parents to the "Ice" exhibit at the Gaylord Palms (our gift to them), which they enjoyed very much. Afterwards we pigged out on the awesome buffet at the hotel -- you haven't lived until you've tried their apple crepes, or their chocolate fondue fountain. Good stuff. We spent Christmas Eve Day with my parents (at a Chinese Buffet), then spent Christmas Day with the inlaws, then drove back Christmas night. We couldn't leave the "kids" unsupervised for too long. I need a holiday from my holiday.
Fortunately New Year's Eve was a little more quiet. We spent it at home, trying to catch up on some of the shows we DVRd over the past few months (Moonlight, Chuck, Bones, etc). We stayed up late enough to see the ball drop at Times Square, then Dave went to his game room and I went to bed. What can I say, we're PARTY people! : )
I spent New Year's Day using up some of my gift certificates. Picture it: Me, unsupervised, in a book store with gift cards, a discount card AND New Year sales, pumped up on mocha coffee. It wasn't pretty, people. Not pretty at all. I've got a nice little stack of new things to read, but I want to take the time to apologize to the book store employees who tried to be helpful, but foolishly got in my way. Sorry, but Momma needed some new tomes, and ... well... ya just don't get in the way of a book addict when she's trying to look at the new fiction. Ya just don't do it. : )
No comments:
Post a Comment