🇺🇸 Tampa | Manatees, We Came to See You! 🌿

🔍 Manatee Viewing Center 📍 6990 Dickman Rd, Apollo Beach, FL 33572 Another typical sunny Florida day — woke up early to see the manatees! ☀️ This free viewing spot is located near a power plant. Isn’t this nature’s gift? 🎁 The center opens at 10 AM. We arrived at 10:40 AM — the main parking was already full 🚗💨, but we followed signs to the overflow lot. From there, it’s a 10-minute walk along a boardwalk to the center (or you can wait for a shuttle). Funny enough, right after we started walking, we noticed cars were still entering the closer lot… So our 10-minute “exercise” was… optional? 😂 Talk about perfect timing! We saw a few manatees up close — they were huge! 🐄💦 Most were still further out in the water during our visit. The warm water discharged from the Teco Power Plant attracts them every year. They love shallow areas, and because of their size, their backs often stick out of the water — making them vulnerable to boat scars 🛥️💔. We’ve seen these scars up close while kayaking in Weeki Wachee — some deep, some shallow… looks painful. Also spotted birds circling above — they never left the whole time we were there 🕊️☁️. Must be their airspace! Before leaving, we bought manatee souvenirs at the gift shop 🛍️🧸. On the way back, we laughed again about that “optional” 10-minute walk. Sometimes it’s all about timing! #Tampa #WeekendVibes #Manatee #FloridaWildlife #SpringTime #ExploreFlorida