The Manatees and a visit to the Tampa Aquarium

Out and About on a Tuesday

On Tuesday morning we all got and headed out the door pretty early.  We had big plans and ways to drive to see them.  Here was our plan for the day.

1. Drive to Tampa- This was about 80 miles each way.

2. Visit the Manatee Viewing Center at Tampa Electric

3.  Find some yummy Cuban Food for lunch-  I love plantains

4.  Head to downtown Tampa and check out the Tampa Aquarium

5. Drive home and spend some time in the pool

This seemed pretty ambitious but we were excited to see it all. 

We made it to the Manatee Viewing Center at almost exactly 10:00 AM (so right when it opened) and we weren't sure what to expect.  Luke's parents had been to a similar one in Fort Myers and that was a bust but were were hopeful....... and it was AWESOME!

I love Manatees and hate cameras!

Going up the stairs to see the Manatees

When we got to the parking lot it was still fairly empty but you could tell it was filling up pretty quickly.  It even had a few school buses full of kids.

We got out of the car and headed over to the visitors center and the elevated deck.  The visitor center is on the opposite side of the estuary from the actual Tampa electric site but we got a great view of it and it was pretty neat looking.

Look at the things that appear to be bubbles in the water, they are not- they are actually Manatees!

When we got to the top of the platform we looked out into the estuary and saw a ton of manatees- I think that there had to be at least 100 of them.  This is one of the coolest tings that I have ever seen.  Marcus though that the "sea cows" were pretty fun to watch as they lazed around in the water.

Hungry Hungry Manatee

When we finally finished looking at the manatees we checked out the rest of the area.  They had a visitor center, a butterfly garden, and a long walk down the estuary.

Mommy and baby Manatee

Pretty Flowers

It was a really neat place to visit and I would recommend it to anyone.  We probably spent a little over an hour here (that is max Marcus time for most things) and enjoyed it immensely.  

When we left the next stop was Cuban food and Luke found some and I thought it was pretty darn good!

When lunch was over we headed out for our next big adventure of the day.  We decided to visit the Tampa Aquarium.  Marcus has been to A LOT of aquariums in his time (The Shed (Chicago), ECHO (Burlington, VT), The Boston Aquarium, The Mote Aquarium (Sarasota, FL), and Sea Life at the MAO) so it is always fun to check out another one.

This is a pretty neat aquarium.  There is a lot to see and it is pretty big.  I loved the exhibit on the mangroves and the fish that live the roots.    Marcus just loved running around and checking everything out.  Here are a few pictures of our visit.

When you get to the aquarium it has you start at the top and you slowing wind your way down to the bottom.  The path is pretty much one really long ramp (which Marcus LOVED running up and down).  There was all kinds of varieties of fish and sea life to check out.  When you get to the bottom there is a large children's play area.  Marcus LOVED the water guns- especially after Daddy and Grandma showed him how to use them.

Overall a very successful day.  Marcus was so pooped out that he feel asleep on the way back to the house.  That's OK-  it gave me enough energy for some pool time later that night!