Yesterday, Wednesday, February 11, Vision Forum, our board members, and some guests rejoiced in a face-to-face encounter with one of the Lord’s most unusual of creatures, the manatee. Also known as the sea cow, these massive, docile animals were encountered by Christopher Columbus on his journey to America, who commented that if these were the mermaids so often spoken of by sailors, they sure were ugly.

We left at 7:00 a.m. for a remote part of the Crystal River, highly populated by a herd of manatees. For several hours, we swam and interacted with the playful and mysterious mammals. The babies were especially playful.