Who says I can't fly?!

          Yesterday was amazing and one filled with many emotions.  The flight, the kind people, the sun along with the beautiful sights made me feel like I was in heaven on earth.  But this morning all I could think about was what was in store for me.  All I knew was I had an appointment at 1:00.  But an appointment for what..?? I had absolutely no idea. However, the anticipation of the unknown was going to continue, because our first stop would be at a Manatee park.

  

          With the temperature reaching around 75 I was in my "perfect" zone.  If it's too cold I'm a tin soldier and too hot a bag of cement.  But this day I would feel about as normal as a human being could feel.
     

          I never knew how "human like" the manatee actually was, in fact the skeleton looked nothing like that of a sea creature. But then again, a Manatee is a mammal so that would explain the human similarities.  They actually have lungs but unlike humans they can hold their breath under water for about five minutes.
   

          You can see the Manatees were a little apprehensive about greeting us at first, and with the temperature almost like bath water I can't say I blamed them.   However, they had to surface at somepoint and I had my camera ready for when they did.

        It was a little sad to know that all of these nicks were caused by boat propellers, but with their thick skin they appeared to be unharmed.

          We actually saw a mother and her baby along with many more of their friends before we left, and after a morning filled with walking in the sunshine and exploring we were finally off to my mystery appointment...  So a quick lunch on the run and we were heading to our next stop.

     The mystery had gone on for long enough and soon the cat was finally out of the bag (or should I say the Coyote...)

      I would have never said "hey, I really want to go hang gliding!!" but when it was put in front of me I was flying higher than a kite!  (no pun intended)

     They gave me a helmet and I asked the obvious question "what good will this do if I crash from 1500 feet in the air?"  Keith said "absolutely nothing, but it'll make you think it will..."

     They strapped me in securely and I never felt even the slightest fear.  When I was at my highest point (both physically and mentally)  I actually felt like a soaring bird!  Remember the song "You are the wind beneath my wings..." I always said if I had one super power it would be flying; no feet required!!  And my dream finally came true!!

     Before long the plane that we were attached to released us, and there was nothing but the wind and the sail keeping us afloat.  But at this point I didn't care if I ever came back down, and if there were any complications there couldn't be a better way to go:)

          I know my pilot, Dave, was running the show, but at one point he actually let me steer, and he asked me if I wanted to do some tricks... how can you go that high up in the sky and not show off a little:)  So we did a few dips and loops and then started our journey back down.

My pilot Dave

     I was finally back on the ground and there was no doubt in my mind that I would absolutely do this a million times over.  This en-devour made me feel like I could do anything, and I will be forever grateful to these two guys for giving me an experience of a life time; Keith, for getting me up there, and Dave, for bringing me safely back down:)

     Just think, the day is only half over... Check back to see if this day could get any better:)


Have a great day!!

Christine:)