Sharp's Travels

We ate a big breakfast this morning and were ready by 10am to head to Apollo Beach in Tampa Bay. The Tampa Electric Plant is there and tucked away by it is the Manatee Viewing Center. During the cold winter months, you can see manatees swimming in the clean, warm water reservoir. From their observation platform we saw at least 200 manatees swimming around in the warmed water from the power plant. We have had such a cold winter this year over an unusual long span that the number of manatees there is real high. They were neat to watch, we got a glimpse of a couple of babies swimming with their mom. We also saw spotted eagle eels and fish jumping right up out of the water.

There was a self-guided nature trail on the tidal flat walkway that offers a leisurely stroll on a 900 foot pier. We spotted a baby hammerhead shark and a couple of stingrays.

We stopped at Burger King for a quick lunch before heading on down to Myakka City to see the Lipizzan Stallions.

We arrived at the Lipizzan winter training grounds about 1 ½ hours before the show. We took the extra time to wander through the stables and check out all the Lipizzans.

As show time grew nearer, the crowd started to gather. The show is free but they do ask for donations to help support the horses and grounds. The show was great. The horses jumped and had all 4 feet right off the ground. Check out the pictures posted.

Our plan before returning to Zephyrhills was to stop at the Roaring 20’s Pizza & Pipes. When we arrived there, we saw a long line all along the front of the building. We were told it would be about a 1 hour wait so Greg & Jeanene slipped in to see the big Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. At show time it comes up out of the floor and the organist entertains the people while they eat. It has 2,456 organ pipes and percussions. It is quite a site.

We decided not to wait and headed to the Golden Corel in Zephyrhills to eat. We were home by 7:30 pm.

For pictures of the day see album: Lipizzan Stallions