Aw, manatees are not hideous! I’m going to tell them that you said that. You worked at a dolphin hospital? Was there actually hospitaling involved or was that the name of the place? What kind of VIP 3 am tour are we talking about here?
Okay…extended stay hotel on Telecom, or Vicente – I would be looking at these places right now, but my husband needs to talk to his family to see when we need the hotel time. They may just offer to have us stay there the whole time, but then there’s the problem about going off and doing things during the day without them, without being rude.
I’m so glad I started thinking about this vacation so early. Usually I get the hotel and flight and then just wing it from there. That leads to afternoons in which I look at him and say, “What do you want to do?” and he says (everyone together, now): “I dunno, what do you want to do?”
I’d advise agains the Telecom Doubletree, as it is in the total, total boonies.
You won’t be able to walk to anything except a soulless office park, and - if you hoof it a while - a scuzzy IHOP. Civilization begins @ 3 miles from that hotel.
Well, let me put it this way: My girlfriend and I were not looking for a great hotel room per se, as much as a room that was far away from our son and my parents, and particularly, was not above my parents’ bedroom. The Doubletree more than met those needs.
As a (part-time) Florida resident, let me assure you that family members who visit and go off and do their own thing while staying here are family members who are invited back.
(Totally off-topic: Tampa and Ft. Myers Dopers can hear me interviewed on the local NPR newscast this evening. I haven’t heard the segment, but I’m the one who doesn’t listen to the safety speeches on airplanes.)
It was an actual hospital for stranded/beached/injured dolphins and small whales. We also treat and rehabilitate sea turtles. The goal of the hospital is to Rescue, Rehabilitate and Release. But sometimes the animals are deemed unreleasable for one reason or another. So they become permanant residents are at least longterm residents…
The 3am tour??? lol. Well, I have been known to stop by there if I had a lot of energy after the clubs closed and I didn’t feel like going home. I’d just sit with my legs in the water and play fetch and mess around with the dolphins. It wasn’t uncommon for me to bring a friend or two with me. And of course by “friend” I mean “some girls I just met at the club”…
Everyone always enjoyed it though. Some peoples’ favorite is petting the manatees, others the turtles, but mostly the dolphins. The dolphins are definitely my favorite. Except they bite a lot sometime.
I would love to touch a dolphin. I didn’t know they bit, although that wouldn’t be all that different from my puppy. Are they just trying to play, or are they being aggressive?
Vicente is charging about $250 per night for New Year’s. We can’t do that. It’s a very impressive-looking place, though, and we might try to stay a night earlier in the week. I haven’t been able to get a hold of them to see what their rates are for the few days after Christmas. However, if it’s above $150, we will certainly be staying elsewhere. Maybe St. Petersburg, since everyone has been so positive about that place.
They’re just playing. But they have hundreds of sharp little teeth. Not razor sharp, but kinda conical and just pointy enough to cut you if you try to pull your hand from their mouth, or if they’re just “raking” their teeth across you. Stenos are even worse because there is a rough edge to their teeth that seems to aid in the scratching.
Manatees haven’t bit me yet, but I’m still nervous that they might. I never put fingers near their mouth. I keep an open hand like I’m feeding a goat or something.
I will say that a manatee has the most interesting texture of anything I’ve petted.
Oh, and sometime they do snap at you. It’s still playing around, but it will definitely leave a row of perfectly spaced little red holes on your hand. The bleeding doesn’t last long, but the mark does. So, for about a week or so you can be like “See this?? … yeah, I was bit by a dolphin…” It’s a good conversation starter.
If you go to Ybor, don’t rule out going during the day. Stop by La Tropicana, an old Cuban restaurant. Order Cuban coffe and toasted Cuban bread, and just about anything else on the menu. Alos, please tell Enrique that Hawk said hello. If you like Cuban food, I would also recommend La Teresita, located just south of the Stadium, off Dale Mabry Blvd.