Kayaking Day!

Ken decided not to play pickleball today because his back was acting a bit crazy! So, he went for a 1 1/2 hour walk with Ernie leaving at 7:15.  I was on the pickleball court from 8:30 to 10.  Ken had everything outside looking great because we had put most things away yesterday when there were some stronger winds.  We packed our lunches and snacks and headed out of the CG in their truck to go to the Estero River near Kereshan Park to rent kayaks.

We arrived at the park around 11:30 and there were no tandem kayaks available at the park.  We went to a nearby Outfitter Place and were able to get 2 tandem kayaks and it was a very nice place to launch.  The Estero River is a wonderful place to kayak because it is a narrow area with lots of vegetation that looks like "old Florida".  We got out of our kayaks at the park launch area and enjoyed our lunch at a picnic table.

So quiet and peaceful with lots to see!

Ernie and Noela enjoy kayaking!

Then it was back in our kayaks to continue the paddle on the river.  Ernie had some "fun" trying to get into his kayak!

Be careful, Ernie!

Noela, don't try to push him in with your paddle!

A rather awkward landing, but he's in!

Then we had a wonderful surprise - there were about 8 or so manatees in the river and they came so close to our kayaks, even under them.  They are so big and so ugly they are almost cute!

Approaching a manatee sighting area!

Wow, this manatee swam right by the kayak!

These guys are BIG!!!

So close to the surface!

We were on the water for 3 hours and really had a fantastic time.  We were back to the CG by 5:15 and Ken and I kept extremely busy until we picked up Ernie and Noela at 6:45 to go to Farlow's on the Water for dinner.  We had to wait about an hour, but no problem.  We had a deck of cards in the CRV and we played Rummy while we waited.  The time passed quickly.

As per usual, the food was delicious and the atmosphere great. Ernie and Noela paid for the dinner with a gift card they had gotten because we signed up for 3 months here at Harbor Lakes.  How nice of them to share it with us.  It was a $100.00 card and our meals came to $99.00 with tax and tip - wow, we are good!!!!!

We got back to the CG around 9:15 and after 2 busy days, we were ready for bed.  This was another great one with temperatures near 80, plenty of beautiful sunshine, and a wonderful adventure with special friends.