Tuesday, April 24, 2012

U is for Manatees? - A to Z Challenge


Confused, aren’t you? Let me explain. U is the name of a manatee.

I love manatees. They’re peaceful, gentle, and beautiful. I think I saw my first one at Epcot Center, in their Living Seas exhibit. I bored my parents to death with the amount of time I wanted to spend in that place.


Years later, I took John to Disney and Epcot, and inevitably we ended up at the Living Seas. He hid his boredom better, at least. At the end of the day, I found a stuffed manatee in the gift shop. This thing was about 3 feet in length, and I just had to have it! Yes, I realize I’m a grown woman who is professing a need for buying a stuffed animal. But if Laurell Hamilton (and Anita Blake!) can like stuffed penguins, I can have manatees.

Tee, Manny, U, and Herb
So I go home with the 3-foot manatee, who gets named Tee. It’s natural, then for the next manatee, a much smaller one, to be named U. And later, a tiny 6 inch long manatee named V. V, unfortunately, got lost in an Atlantic City hotel room, and was replaced by Manny. Don’t look at me - I didn’t name him. He came with his name already on his tag. And last but not least, my Toasty Manatee, an aromatherapy animal filled with herbs I can nuke in the microwave to make it nice and warm. Great for muscle aches! This one is named Herb. Campy, I know, but I just HAD to!

There you have it, the story of why U is for manatee. (This is perhaps the silliest blog I’ve written this month!)

I’m heading out of town today for a writer’s conference in Salem this weekend, and somewhere along the way, we’ll be checking out an aquarium. I wonder if I’ll come home with any new manatees?

12 comments:

  1. I love manatees - they're so gentle looking, they make me want to weep (in a good way). However, as I cannot have a live one in my flat, I have the next best thing, a really affectionate cat who likes cuddles and playing with his scratching post mouse.
    Bex
    www.leavingcairo.blogspot.com

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    1. Yeah, I'd imagine they take up way too much room in the bathtub! I settle for a stuffed one. And I agree about cats! I have 3 myself.

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  2. We went to Homosassa Springs in Florida to see the manatees. Such strange creatures! Feeding times involved a lot of carrots.

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    1. I'd LOVE to do that! I even read about places that operate dive boats to go see them up close and personal.

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  3. Have you seen Veggietales wehre Bob the tomato is singing "Barbara Manatee"? It's cute! Here's the Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpD8cktegwY&feature=fvst


    Elizabeth
    A to Z co-host

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    1. I hadn't seen this before! Hysterical - thanks for sharing it!

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  4. Those are so cute! I hope you do come home with a new one.

    ScribblesFromJenn
    Happy A to Z-ing!

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  5. I think New England Aquarium will be your best bet. Last time at Mystic you brought home your stuffed Beluga whale, "Caviar". :) (misspelled it in my last post) :(

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    1. I'm so excited to go see the real, live, swimming Belugas tomorrow!

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  6. Gentle Giants for sure.
    #194 following
    Kate
    http://whenkateblogs.blogspot.com/

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  7. Love love love manatees! My husband and I went on a manatee viewing tour where we watched them from a small boat - they gathered around, nibbled at the ropes - I could have sat there for hours watching them. Oh, and we saw a baby one being fed from a bottle at Sea World years ago. :)

    Happy A-Z!

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