A Dream Come True

Coming to the end of their jubilant American Adventure, Eric and the ever fragrant one had left their last "proper day" gender fluid, allowing them time to go somewhere still left on their itinerary or revisit anywhere that had still left them  wanting.

They were still debating this when their beloved Helen messaged them to say she'd got a totally free afternoon and as they'd been so much fun to be with on their entirely unique itinerary, she'd like to take them out for one last time, free, gratis and on her and suggested that as the water temperature was dropping, the manatees were starting to congregate at the Apollo Beach Power Plant and would they like to go? 

Well, at first you could have heard a pin drop and then become deafened by the whoops of unbridled and unfettered joy of such a visit.  Eric and Alice had soooooooo wanted to see a manatee but the Power Plant was quite far out and if they were pushed for time it could have been cutting things very fine.

Needless to say, once they'd both recovered the answer was a resounding and  unequivocable "YES PLEASE" accompanied by a million thank yous!

So, at the appointed time Helen collected them with, once again, armed with an assorted plethora of snacks for the backseat!

I don't think I need tell you just how emotional the visit was ......

There were tears, an awful, awful lot of tears ......

..... with the backs of manatees as far as they could see, moving very slowly and serenely through the water .........

.......they were tears of awe and joy of a dream come true.

There would be the odd, incredibly cute nose pop up, blowing out water while coming up for air ......

..... or a magnificent tail silently rise and gentle fall as the manatees dived to get a little further down.

As for the mothers with their babies ....... oh my life!

After their visit Eric and Alice just couldn't find the words to begin to describe how the experience had touched the very depths of their hearts.

Eric, never one to be quiet or speechless for long was, according to Alice, rendered totally silent for at least half of their visit, he simply wanted to drink it all in .......

...... knowing that this would, most likely, be his first and only encounter with these beautiful creatures .....

...... he wanted to remember and embrace every single second spent with his "spirit animal". He could barely express his thoughts to Alice as to how much he loved them between huge sighs, sniffs and the wiping away of tears.

Alice felt exactly the same, but let Eric have his moment.

The whole thing was entirely free ......

...... but needless to say Eric and Alice left a good donation as a thank you for said dream come true, with Eric left wondering whether there was a adoption scheme ........

...... but then, how on earth could he ever decide which one, two, three to adopt, he'd have to adopt them all and his pocket money just wouldn't go that far!

It was the perfect end to their American adventure ........

...... and lost in his thoughts on the drive back ........

....... he noticed a huge kiss stretching right across the sky and fell apart all over again. 

He was leaving a huge part of his heart behind with all the manatees. 

What is he like and however will we ever be able to top this long felt want?