Giving thanks🙏.

 On the last Thursday of November each year, Americans make a big hullabaloo about giving thanks.

 But it's something we Jamaicans were taught to do daily.

The thing I give thanks for none stop is good health.

I usually try to get some exercise  before going off to stuff myself😁.

Having a bicycle sure helps in that quest.😁

Anyway since I am unapologetic food lover, I head to Michelle's mom, Miss Norma, one of the greatest cooks on earth, on that American holiday.

Miss. Norms

But we don't do turkey as it looks too much like a creature that flies very high and nuh work pon Sunday, that we have at home.😁

That's mine😁

Michele birthday was the 22nd and her loving sister Melissa bought her a cake.

We had lots of fun as usual.

Yup, I got a stomach full and had lots of fun on America's Thanksgiving Day. 

So did DJ Shaddy, as he wrote the hilarious lyrics below and used AI to create this song about the day.

 It's on you tube at:

https://youtu.be/QMFQBtKuIVM?si=grq_PNg4db5wunBs

On Friday it was on to Sebring for more food and camaraderie with my best friend Sunshine and family 😁.

Sebring is a small, quiet city of around 11,000 people, where black bears roam at night. Yup they see them on their cameras but I have never seen one although I would love to. All I ever see are deers 😡

It's some 3 hours away in the northwest of Florida and on Friday morning before I got there it was 48 Degrees.  Luckily it warmed up before I arrived.

Houses are far apart in Sebring 

It's peaceful there.

Since I was in no hurry, I took a longer and more scenic route which I had discovered years before, while going to nearby Lake Placid to a caladium festival. :JOAN, MY VIEWS.: Caladiums galore https://share.google/d4UTWkhQucCSMI44O.

That area is a Trump red neck country and as if to remind me, there was a huge billboard with his picture on the road. Anyway that reminded me to keep within the speed limit as the last thing I need in life is to be stopped by a red neck police.

This route took me through area with campgrounds, fishing attractions and  huge ranches with thousands of cattle grazing peacefully.

It was nice to see them getting stung by the Trump economic policies they voted for as at least one third of the farms  had " for sale" signs out front.

Ribs by Cardiff.

It was a pleasant, quiet weekend with friends and although Cardiff is not a pork eater, he did ribs for me♥️.

That made the long journey even more than worthwhile.😋

No manatees today😢

Today was clearly the worst day to choose to visit the manatees at Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach.

This attraction is an initiative of Florida Light and Power (FLP) which on seeing that manatees gather in the warm-water outflows at Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, especially during cold weather, developed that area as an interesting scientific center where families could learn about these huge gentle mammals.

Their mission is “to not only educate the public about the relationship it has with these wonderful creatures, but to “inspire communities to preserve and protect Florida’s environment and wildlife for future generations,” they declare on the promotional material inviting persons to visit their free attraction.

Inside the educational center

It is really a good educational center, especially for kids and an excellent initiative by FLP.

I have been fascinated by these huge gentle creatures ever since I had the opportunity to swim with a nuclear family of manatees, (father mother and two babies) and pet them many decades ago, at Alligator Hole in Claredon Jamaica.

Our manatees are endangered and this is an environmental center, but unfortunately, on the three other occasions I have stopped there to see them, I was  disappointed, as they were up-river feeding.

In Florida I have seen many however, especially in the St. John's River at Blue Water Springs; https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2022/02/hontoon-island-and-more.html.

Giving kids an education 

I still can’t get enough of manatees though, so, when my high school friend Sonja told me about this preserve operated by Florida Light and Power, I was ready to explore.

Rough seas today

However, on Saturday 4^th, low-temperature records dropped drastically across portions of the USA because of an artic freeze. While in southern Florida, the temperatures were in the 70’s, there was a strong breeze throughout the day, (up to 40 mph in some areas), causing rough seas.  That is probably why we did not have the good luck to see any manatees.😪

At one point, while inside the scientific center, we saw a few on the live loop camera feed, but by the time we rushed outside, they had vanished.

Oh well, at least we discovered somewhere new and maybe next time our luck will be better ( I hope).

And I did learn one thing which is that manatees are very distantly related to elephants though their extinct ancestors.

As I keep discovering, all things are possible with the complicated science of evolution!

 West Palm in the distance