[29th March 2003 - my birthday!]

We've been having so much fun on the water, that we decided to have another aquatic adventure. We're in Crystal River now, up the Gulf coast and on (as the name would suggest) a very clear river estuary.

We took out a kayak, and had a wonderful few hours pootling about between islands, up creeks (with our paddles), and around harbours. While we were paddling around in a quiet area, I suddenly saw a couple of dorsal fins. We stopped and kept watching and saw them again. For several minutes, we watched the bottlenosed dolphins (a mother and her offspring, I think), as they came closer to our kayak. At one point, the adult rolled slowly on her side and looked at us curiously. It was totally enchanting, and one of the best birthday presents I can imagine getting. It all ended when some dim-wit in a big boat came roaring through without seeing the dolphins, and they scarpered.