On the water

We went again yesterday to the Thousand Islands, just west of cocoa beach. I felt a bit jumpy, considering my alligator research the night before. We paddled out a bit to a canal, and something leaped out of the water just a few feet from us. I shrieked. It was. .. not an alligator. Not a shark. It was a dolphin!

Then I saw a whiskered snout poke up from the middle of the canal. It was a manatee!! Oh, joy! We paddled up and down the canal with the dolphins following us and leaping in front and playing little games with us. It was incredibly cool. We spent an hour with the animals, although my camera shutter speed is way too slow to catch the beautiful creatures.

On our way back to the dock, I followed behind Terry. I kept feeling bumps on the bottom of the boat and I thought I was running over branches. Terry had a perfectly smooth ride, so we have deduced that I either paddled over a manatee or a dolphin was checking me out.
The only thing strong enough to take away my terror of predators lurking in the water is the joy of discovering playful, peaceful dolphins and manatees.