A hairy Manatee, Axolotls, and Eugenie

I decided to round out my Sarasota Vacation by going to the Mote Aquarium. What an amazing aquarium this WAS! I saw things I've never seen before. Coming into the front door, the first plaque I read was about a Eugenie Clark, a scientist nicknamed the Shark Lady. I realized that this woman was the subject of a picture book that I had as a child and then I recently found the same picture book in my favorite used bookstore. How incredible the memories were to reread that book and now to go to this aquarium that she founded was thrilling to me.
I got to wander around the aquarium since it wasn't crowded at all. I got the close-up look at everything that was going on. There was a manatee called Buffett-- yes named after Jimmy Buffett-- who was having his feeding time and was chomping on all of his lettuce leaves like a good boy. I never realized how hairy manatees are but being able to see him this close showed that he's covered in bristles.
I also got to see all kinds of interesting sea creatures I've never seen before in my life. I got to touch a shark and a stingray. I got to see aquariums full of all different kinds of jellyfish. And I got to talk to a really cool person in the gift store about Adventures and finding these new ways to explore the world.
What a wonderful way to end my Sarasota trip I'm so glad I did this trip and I can't wait to do another solo weekend Adventure sometime soon.Read more