summer want-to-dos..1 1/2 down, 1 1/2 to go!

so, a lot going on this summer so far! around the middle of june, i decided to take advantage of the weekend and get started on my summer list of 'want-to-dos'. so i found the mangrove eco tour in sarasota, and booked it! thanks, groupon! it's never quite as much fun to go alone, but i would absolutely do it again! first of all, i LOVE kayaking. secondly, going through the mangrove tunnels was pretty cool! i went with a group called: adventure kayak outfitters, and our guide was dan. it was very informative and a decent group. it makes my suggestion list, and i now need to get a kayak.

our guide took us out, and there was a group of girls from new jersey, a girl from panama, a couple from new york, and a mom and her 2 kiddos from somewhere up north...ohio? yep, let's just call it ohio. several had never kayaked before so i ended up being the person in the back- it reminded me of kamp and being the tail person on trip bringing up the rear in order to make sure that everyone made it safely! ha! #naturalreaction 

we took off into the bay and saw three manatee, but unfortunately there were no dolphins swimming through at the time... so we moved toward the tunnels. these were red mangroves. there are also white and black. the roots take the salt water and desalinate about 90% of the water and from what our guide said, the trees have leaves at the top, which he called sacrificial leaves, where the salt is excreted and the leaves fall. anyhoo, back in this area, there were ponds, where the water would pool and stagnate, causing major mosquito issues. in order to relieve the problem, the army corps of engineers cut tunnels through the mangroves, in hopes that it would bring fresh waters as the tides came and went. i guess it didn't really relieve the mosquito problem. (we still have mosquitos). so, even though it doesn't work as planned, hopefully they will keep the tunnels cleared, because they really are magical! 

and because the kayaking was such a success, i decided to start on number 2 on my list. so i went in and paid for the scuba certification course, and started the online portion that day! throughout the week, i was able to finish the course and take the final test. now i need to schedule the pool dives, which he said they usually try to schedule around 6pm, then 2 open water drives, which we do on weekends... perfect, that fits into my schedule! 

it's a little harder to schedule in the summer, because of the storm patterns. but hopefully i can get them scheduled and taken care of! this will be my expensive hobby! it'll be exciting to get out and about and take some video with the go-pro once things settle a little bit (maybe next year! ha! hopefully we'll find a free weekend to sneak down to the keys before it gets cold!)

the final thing on my summer 'want-to-do' list is coming up next in a couple weekends. there's the night bioluminescent eco-tour over near cocoa beach, an hour east of orlando. because it is night kayaking, to see the glowing plankton, it will be late. unfortunately the 9pm and the 11pm were booked, and all that was left was the midnight madness! eek. i may need a nap before we go! but i am super looking forward to it, and found a tour in clear tandem kayaks, so that will definitely add to the excitement factor!

and then  last week there was a little thing we like to call SUMMERCON 18! yes, next up, a quick overview of our summer conference!

a great weekend to all!
julie