Well, we are just a week away from another great PCMS year! This summer has been a great time for me to spend time with family and friends who live far, far away from Houston. After teaching summer school (which was a treat in and of itself), Kiera and I traveled to good ol' Fredonia, NY. There, we watched the Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Erie, consumed some of the Little's specialty Spaghetti, and attended the Taste of Buffalo.
The Taste of Buffalo is actually the largest two-day festival in the entire nation! There were tons of different foods to sample. Even the Travel Channel was there promoting their show, Man vs. Food!
The Taste of Buffalo is actually the largest two-day festival in the entire nation! There were tons of different foods to sample. Even the Travel Channel was there promoting their show, Man vs. Food!
After a great ten days in New York, we flew back to Houston, and eight hours later, we were on the road again traveling to Florida. On the way, we got to see some glimpses of the oil that has washed ashore in Alabama and Pensacola...very sad and disturbing.
Our final destination was Spring Hill, Fl where Kiera's family now lives. While in Florida, I had one of my most memorable summer-moments. I got to swim on a live manatee. Now, some of you are like, "What's a manatee?" Others of you are like, "Oh, cool, Mr. Little. Were you one of those cheesy volunteers at Sea World or something?"
Manatees are mammals similar to whales, but smaller. They are sometimes called "Sea Cows" and can get up to twelve feet long and 1,200 pounds in weight. They are extremely friendly.
So, as I was kayaking with my wife and her parents, we came upon a mother and a baby manatee. I quickly jumped in the water (a bit foolish of me, I admit) and swam with the mother and baby. I surfed on the mother for about a minute before she flicked her tail and sent me flying in the air.
In hindsight bias, I know I should not have just jumped into the water with the wild manatee. Afterwards, I heard stories of people who have actually been drowned by manatees. Apparently, the manatee can grab you and take you down into the water(it is most likely just playing, but it doesn't understand that we can't breathe under water) and people have been drowned. So, I guess I am pretty lucky nothing went wrong, besides the manatee flicking me off its back when it was done with me.
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