First days in Sarasota

The kids and I spent part of our spring break last week in Sarasota.  The purpose of the trip was to spend time with my parents, and in doing so we enjoyed many glorious days in the Florida sunshine. We arrived in Tampa mid-morning on Tuesday, picked up our rental car, and headed south towards Sarasota. My dad recommended that we stop in Apollo Beach to visit the manatee sanctuary near the coastal Tampa Electric Plant. When I did my research in advance of the trip, I learned that during the cooler months (late fall, winter, early spring) the manatees congregate in the harbor near the power plant because of the warmer water generated by the plant. The power plant has capitalized on this phenomenon and has provided a nice viewing area for the public to see the manatees and other shore animals up close.

Of course I neglected to photograph the manatees themselves, but this picture shows some of the fish we saw in the shallow waters as we walked across the boardwalk on the shore. We saw a dozen manatees, fish, a stingray, and even a crab. We also saw pelicans and other birds hovering above the water along the shoreline.

I found a tiki-hut at a nearby marina for lunch. Coming from land-locked Texas, enjoying this lovely view for a casual weekday lunch was delightful (and my fresh grilled grouper sandwich was amazing!). After lunch we drove the rest of the way to Sarasota.

After a fun evening socializing with mom and dad in Sarasota, we opted for a family excursion Wednesday morning. We went on a kayak tour of the bay off of Lido Beach.

We met our tour guide, Chris, and the rest of the group at a state park on Lido beach around 9:00am. The setting was beautiful. Chris had the kayaks waiting for us near water's edge, so after a brief instruction period we all loaded into the kayaks and began our journey. I love this adorable photo of my dad and Amelia in their tandem kayak. I was with John in a separate tandem kayak. Unfortuantely, my mom had to work on Wednesday and was not able to join us.

We paddled across the channel, and with the fierce winds this was really hard! At first, kayaking along water's edge near the mangroves was peaceful and pretty easy. But once we got out into the channel, my arms were burning! Once we got across to the other side we were rewarded with close views of the waterfront homes. We also saw many birds, including pelicans, blue herons, and dozens of cormorants, a bird species that swam next to our kayaks on the water and repeatedly dove underneath them looking for fish.

After paddling back across the channel (full disclosure - the wind and even stronger waves were so tough that Chris the guide had to help "tow" our tandem kayak across - but still I gave it my all and my arms burned even more!), we enjoyed the rest of the morning amongst the mangroves. This time we got to paddle through the mangrove tunnels, which was a really peaceful, lovely experience. The channels within the mangroves were just narrow enough for one kayak so we journeyed single-file in a line through the space. We saw a great white egret and several crabs (on the mangrove roots). I had trouble navigating the channels and taking photos at the same time, so this is the only decent photo I have from the mangroves.

Our journey on the water lasted almost three hours, and at the end we were tired but happy. Despite the difficult challenge of paddling across the channel twice, this was a great way to experience the water near Sarasota in a way we never have enjoyed it before. I am grateful that my dad was up for sharing this experience with us!