Jet Skis, Dolphins and Manatees, Oh MY!

What a day!  We started out going fishing (no LUCK, again... well, one fish...) but the water was soooo very calm and beautiful... a stark contrast to the day before.  While we were fishing (or deciding to give it up), Maddie asked if we could do the dolphin tour today (we had it planned for any day this week), and I sent her in to get Jeff's opinion.  His question was:  how smooth is the water.  When he heard 'very', he jumped up and called the tour place.  The tour started at 9:30, and it was 8:50, so we grabbed our sunscreen and towels and hit the road.  Hoping to go to Heavenly Biscuit on the way, we didn't even stop to eat.  However, we pulled into Heavenly Biscuit only to realize we'd done this very same thing last time... they don't open on Mondays!!  So, we buzzed down the beach to the dolphin tour company assuring the kids we'd eat a good brunch afterwards.  :-)

The dolphin tour was UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE.  First of all, we were with a family of 6 from England, and they were so nice and funny.  Second, our guide (TJ or JT or some initial combo like that) has lived in Fort Myers for 15 years and was very knowledgeable AND very nice (and funny).  As we sped down Fort Myers beach toward the back water, we had fun getting our jetski legs back.  We were going 45 - 50 mph!!  When we got in the back waters, in Estero Bay, it wasn't long at all before we saw 2 dolphins, a mom and her 1 month old calf.  Too cool!  Then we saw some manatees, and that was really awesome, too.  Last time, we only guessed that we saw a manatee; this time, there was NO doubt.  Their snouts came out of the water; their tails panned the surface - it was cool!!  THEN, while we were still in the bay, we came across a huge pod of dolphins!  The guide said it was probably actually two pods swimming together, but it was AWESOME.  When we first saw them, they were in really shallow water, so we had to watch from where we were.  Before we knew it, though, they were heading right for us!  As long as we cut our engines, we're able to sit and watch... they swam toward us, and even lifted their eyes out of the water to check us out (their version of 'I spy') as they passed in front of our group.  It was beyond cool.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing dolphins... God is so creative and so powerful.

After our tour, we came back and were starving!!!  We stopped at the store to get a few grocery items we needed, including some Publix doughnuts for Jeff and Maddie.  Matthew opted (with me) for fruit, yogurt and granola!!  Wow!!  He loves that stuff - he even chooses it over cereal!  After we all filled out bellies, we hit the beach.  The waves were so rough, and the water was so BROWN!!  We learned what's going on from our guide today.  When the nearby Okeechobee Lake gets too full, they release water from it.  That water flows into the Caloosahachee River, which dumps into Fort Myers Beach.  As the water becomes brackish, algea begins to form at increased levels... CRAZY!!!  The water looked like coffee yesterday, and today was more like tea.  Weird stuff.  Not good for the estuary, either... it kills the seagrasses, initiates algeal blooms that are not necessarily good for the manatees... but it's part of the cycle I guess.

Anyway, I digress.  When we came back to play, Jeff and I sat in the shade and watched for a bit... the kids had SO much fun playing together!  They were playing with the boat, and hearing them laugh and play together for a good thirty minutes or more was music to my soul.  Soooo awesome.  They had a blast together!  First they were pushing and pulling each other around in the boat, then they started trying to flip each other over in the boat.  Then they worked together to fill the boat with water and had some sort of contest in which the loser laid in the boat.  Too funny.  Finally, we joined them... we set up the canopy and played in the water, and then we went to the pool.

We left the pool and decided to cut our watermelon outside and enjoy some slices... no sooner than we made the first slight did HUGE raindrops start pelting down from the sky.  We scooped up the melon and came inside, and as it turned out, the watermelon wasn't even GOOD!  The rains changed our evening plans, too... we decided that instead of grilling, we'd go out to eat (we were going to eat out one more night, but we were going to wait until Wednesday).  SO, we went to Bonefish.  Matthew ordered their large portion of Gulf Grouper and at the whole thing, including his side of garlic mashed potatoes and ALL of his seasonal vegetables.  When he first tasting the vegetables (corn, edamame, peppers and who knows what else), he said, "Pretty good.  Not the best assortment of vegetables."  A few minutes later, though, he took another bite and said, "You know, this is actually REALLY good!" and he proceeded to eat it all!  He amazes me!  His eating has taken on a whole new level!  He even enjoyed some of Jeff's creme brûlée!

After dinner, we came back and watched Cake Boss... then went to bed.

It was an awesome day.  Truly awesome.  We are so thankful for this trip!  As Maddie said in her prayers tonight, "it is such a privilege to get to enjoy God's beautiful creation this way."  Amen!