Funny how some free attractions can offer far more to the visitor than those which charge a fee. TECO’s (Tampa Electric Company) Manatee Viewing Center is certainly worth getting off I-75 at Big Bend Rd to check out. Now that I’m practically in the neighborhood and with temperatures being a cool 41 or so degrees outside this morning, it all made perfect sense: go see the sea cows! Oh, and did I mention the attraction is free?

It’s hard to imagine why any creature would spend the winter soaking in waters beside industrial smoke stacks, but apparently the manatees like warm water. (And apparently the water temperature today was in the 60′s.) There are plenty of manatees floating around and unless they pop their heads up for air, their backs resemble large stones in the water. The best place to spot them is from the large observation deck where other marine life can also be seen.

Smoke stacks, smoke stacks, manatees, manatees, smoke stacks, manatees. Photos: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you watch them long enough they do back flips in the water just like whales do. I kid. A manatee will not be twirling in air, but there are some fish springing from the water. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Yup, that’s me. I practically rolled out of bed, strapped on my camera bags and ran out the house. It was sort of a now or never situation in joining my mother. Please donate to the sea cows. Photo: The Mothership

When you can’t feel your hands anymore and it gets too cold, go inside to the museum to warm up and read up not only on the manatees, but on TECO as well. The museum isn’t huge, but it has enough information for adults and enough entertainment for children to keep everyone please for at least a good 20 minutes or less. Inside the museum, I learned that genetically, a manatees is closely related to an elephant, ardvark, and hyrax. That’s super crazy considering they all looking almost nothing alike.

Manatee bones in the museum. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you’ve got the time to kill continue outside of the museum and down the trail to see more of nature’s splendor like red mangroves, coastal berm, and various bird life. My mother and I took to the tidal trail, but my battery didn’t have much more go and so it died. Next time, Gadget, next time.