Uncategorized – STEPHY

All aboard a manatee adventure

If you believe in your dreams, your dreams will come to life.

One night, gentle giants came to my dream and shared a place in my heart;

One day, I came to see them and shared a unique memory with them.

It is my adventure with manatees, often called sea cows.

You might know that Crystal River (Florida) is home to the world’s largest population of endangered manatee, particularly in the cooler months when they tend to congregate in the area’s warmer waters. My adventurous spirit pushed me to travel to meet them there, to dare to dream, and write a new chapter in my adventure book. I am proud to have completed this adventure solo and made this dream come true.

I knew that the cooler the weather, the better the chance to see these friendly wild mammals. My adventure started early morning, at 6:00 AM. The weather was very chilly, about 45F degrees, and the sky was dark. On the way to my adventure spot, Kings Bay, I saw an amazing and incredible sunrise, with fog on the water, and boats around it. The moment was very peaceful as I witnessed the sky change color from dark to orange and pink, coloring above the fog on the water.

**There is nothing more special than seeing the sun rise in such an amazing place. These are the moments that give you fuel which lasts forever.**

Wow! I realized that I was about to have an adventure in this paradise wonderland. I could not believe my eyes, but it was real. That early morning moment made this adventure even more special.

**Adventuring in a paradise wonderland.**

Our boat stayed on Kings Bay. We got out of the boat, and submerged ourselves into the water, using snorkels, waiting for the manatees to come along. At the beginning, I did not see anything. I was very careful and patient, worried that my intrusion would interrupt them. After awhile, I felt something moving in the water. I looked closer and closer. Then, Wow! It was a manatee approaching. It is a gentle giant, clumsy but very cute and friendly. Adult manatees can be up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 2,300 pounds.

**This unique, crusty one was swimming toward me.**

They swam around me, and said hello in their unique way. The most exciting moment was when they followed me and cuddled with my feet and body, like a close friend, playing with me in the water.

**They followed my body as we were swimming, staying at the same level as me, taking this adventure together.**

I did not feel nervous or afraid of them. I knew it was not a dream at all. I kept swimming with them, these gentle giants amazed me, they kissed and rode beside me, as if giving me a big hug. I saw a baby manatee flip over and swim with its mother, swimming around me. When we got closer, I clearly saw their whole cute faces and tails. I had a lot of magic touching with them. They showed me lots of love.

**When you are face to face with this cute wild encounter, you will understand why they are special.**

I felt great freedom when immersed in the water and in nature. I truly feel that the beautiful creature is simple and precious in nature. They love humans. I still remember the weather in the morning was chilly, and I spent a few hours in the water, my body feeling cold and shaking. I inserted myself there with the sun rising, all things frozen in time. I forgot about the cold and other thoughts in my head, and just enjoyed the incredible moment with my adventure buddy.

IMG_0368 (1).JPG — **We were super close. You shared a place in my heart, we shared an incredible moment together. Priceless.**

**A reflection of our own nature. A sentient being sharing our space. I found compassion and inspiration through this incredible experience.**

**Come closer, closer… my adventure buddy.**

**A magic hug will keep a big smile on my face.**

**Its cute noses rises above the fog, making this natural moment more magical.**

I felt most alive playing with them. I felt inspired and like anything I wanted to do in life is possible. When I am back to reality, I can still feel this special experience. It warms my heart. These incredible animals make my life complete. This is one of my favorite adventures in my lifetime. The “magic hugs” gave me courage to move forward and fearless to accomplish anything I want in this world.

My adventure buddies —manatees, thanks for the adventure.

Now go have a new one!

Note: In most cases, it is illegal to touch or interfere with a manatee in Florida. However, it is legal to swim and interact with manatees in two towns in Citrus County, including King’s Bay, located about two hours Northwest of Orlando. If you want to experience your own manatee adventure, be certain to do so where it is legal to do so, as this author has done.

Experience a Real Prison Break

Do you remember the TV show “Prison Break”?

Do you remember the comedy “The Blue Brothers”?

In both productions, there was one important location – a prison. When I was young, I really liked the TV show “Prison Break.” I hadn’t thought about it for many years. Then, I had a chance to tour this actual prison, and I couldn’t wait to explore this popular screen location.

In the TV show “Prison Break,” the facility was called Fox River State Penitentiary. The real prison name is the Joliet Correctional Center, now simply known as the “Old Joliet Prison“. It was designed by Chicago’s earliest architect, W.W. Boyington, who also designed the Chicago Water Tower. I find that the architecture of these two facilities share common characteristics.

***Can you find the similarity between Chicago Water Tower and Old Joliet Prison?***

When I got inside the prison fence, there was an interesting scene: the door and windows were badly broken, with many holes, a far cry from its time as a working prison. I imagine that this site experienced a lot of ups and downs.

CA7AC848-B5B4-4412-B4B9-A632114F5CD7 — ***All the doors and windows were broken. The prison looks like a ruin.***

C727D1C8-EE0C-4ADC-9CE1-15D235507457 — ***At this ruin, I can get a strong sense of a prisoner’s life.***

I saw a dark light through another old iron gate, a glimpse into a prisoner’s life. They were completed imprisoned inside these dark and cheerless rooms. Also, dark light makes me feel like the prisoners experienced tough times here.

***Through these old iron gate, I can sense the prisoners’ dark sense of gloom to live in such a cheerless place.***

The most impressive thing is that once I pass through the dark and cold areas, there is a large grassy area. I can feel that for the prisoners who lived here, the grassland was likely their happiest place. They perhaps could feel at least a small sense of relief from their dreary world, even see the sky. In those precious moments, the prisoners could escape their daily life and maybe feel a sense of freedom.

*Most of the prison is depressing, but pass through a door and wall, and you arrive at this grassy area, perhaps the prisoners’ favorite place*.

The prison held a hospital, but it is blocked off with fences with locks on the windows. Inside, a few pieces of medical equipment remain. I can almost see the prisoners experiencing bad breaks and even death here. (Maybe this abandoned hospital could be a haunted house for Halloween.)

7D49DD24-6ADA-457A-9D4B-11C6DC47FD01 — ***The prison hospital was established in 1895. It held death instead of life for some prisoners.***

Another remarkable fact: the tour guide told us that when the prison opened, two prisoners shared a double bed in the tiny room where they lived. Here, I saw a shocking scene: the prisoner’s room was guarded by a heavy iron gate. All the walls and ceiling were dilapidated.

25A6CD94-05B1-47D9-90AC-01BAC61B4B4E — ***Can you image that prisoners lived in this tiny place? So sad.***

D9450CDC-0D9E-45AA-803C-D829D5BF3A2E — ***All the ceilings and walls were broken. Visiting the facility allowed me to understand the reality of this harsh and brutal place. It was shocking.***

Spending time in the prison shows that this was a cruel and painful place. People were imprisoned here for many years. I can feel the despair even now, and how excited a prisoner must have been to get outside for any exercise.

In the TV show “Prison Break,” the brilliant structural engineer Michael Scofield rescued his innocent brother Lincoln and formulated an escape plan, one of many stories told within the prison. When I visited the facility, I can feel that living in prison is a painful and oppressive place. The prisoners must have longed for freedom, saddened by being separated from their families, with many people dying here.

There are other interesting places to explore in Joliet, other than the prison. I also visited the Joliet Area Historical Museum to learn about the area’s diverse history. An exhibition in the gallery showed information about the prison, with actual visuals from the prison showing its history. (On a happier note: The Blues Brothers sat outside the museum).

4DCCC158-9F45-4E0D-AF91-EB468D3DB31C — ***Don’t forget to take a awesome photo with The Blue Brothers!***

Despite the unpleasant feel of the location, this was an exciting place to visit. I walked and toured a real prison where several movies were filmed, and I saw a glimpse of those prisoners’ stories through a broken door and window. I witnessed scenes that seemed to be from another world.

Thank you for experiencing this prison “break” with me!

A Floridian vs Midwesterner state of mind: The Beach

Surf approaching waves with a calm heart and grace.

As Floridians, we love to immerse ourselves into the beach and sunshine: we walk on the soft sand, dip our feet into the water, and see the sky on the same horizon as the beach. It seems that we can almost touch the clouds, feel calm and relaxed, listening to the sound of ocean waves. We are summer friends. It is simple, but the beach is one of the most important parts of our everyday life.

Midwest and Chicago are winter friends forever. But in Chicago, we do have local “beaches” on Lake Michigan, but the water is from the lake, not an ocean. Chicagoans love to dip their toes into the cool waters and silky sand, and enjoy outdoor activities on this “beach” in summer. But I cannot call it a “beach”.

As a Chicagoan, you call it a a beach. But Floridian don’t really consider this a true beach, although it has sand and water. It’s just not a beach to us because it is missing the ocean and sounds of ocean waves.

**A Floridian dips her feet in the lake and has fun, but still misses her ocean.**

Braving the bitter cold and stepping outside in all my layers to stay warm, I think I’ve become a penguin. But I realize something interesting: A Floridian and a Midwesterner have different ideas about a beach.

For me, Florida has the real beaches, which include the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. These are some of the best and famous beaches in the world, from Pensacola to Daytona Beach and from Siesta Key to Miami Beach. Each coastal oasis has its own vibe.

One of the most impressive things is that they have different types of beach sand. I’ll never forget my first steps onto the soft pure quartz beach at Siesta Key near Tampa Bay. Sand artists come here to make gorgeous and amazing sand sculptures in contests.

I am very proud to introduce my real home’s beach to you, especially to Midwesterners. It is common to see a fishing pier extending far out into the water, with the soft blue sky and clouds as a backdrop, and sea foam and white caps in the ocean as the waves break over the sand.

“The beach” opened in Chicago recently. It is an immersive art installation, which consists of a large, open room filled with more than a million antimicrobial and recyclable plastic balls, along with deck chairs, lifeguard chairs, umbrellas and signage that mimic the sensation of a day at the beach. Ha ha! I was diving in the BALL.

Do you have a beach feeling, Floridians? It is all beach-themed art.

Chicago has many cool things, but it doesn’t really have a beach. Ha ha! So the best way to escape the bitter cold winter is to enjoy the REAL beach! Welcome to my home state!

A Floridian experiences her first blizzard

“Snow? What? Wow, it is too COLD!

I am thankful that I live in Florida!”

It is a Floridian’s first reaction if the temperature falls below 50 degrees and you hear of snow. As you know, I am a Floridian but now living in Chicago. The magic thing is that I never thought about how I would survive in the cold winter here. But I have survived. Living with the long winter in Chicago was a tough challenge for me at first, but fortunately I adjusted to it fast. Looking back, making the decision to move here to start a new adventure was so brave!

Today, I would like to share a Floridian’s perspective of snow based on my first blizzard in Chicago.

It is rare for me to see snow. I had never seen snow until I moved to Chicago. The blizzard is a new experience. I knew there would be a blizzard Sunday night to Monday morning, I was truly excited. I immediately texted my close friends in Florida and told them “Tonight we’ll have a blizzard in Chicago, the first blizzard in my life with forecast of 13 inches.” My many Floridan friends replied: “Wow, that is cold!” So now you know a Floridian’s first reaction when hearing of so much snow! Ha!

The night of the blizzard, I woke up many times to see look outside the window. I didn’t want to miss any part of my first blizzard. Monday morning, I woke up, went to the balcony and felt the blizzard in person, listening to the sound of heavy wind and snow. I saw white anywhere. Wow! I was very excited and recorded this great experience via video, taking many great snow photos, then shared them with my friends in Florida. I was proud to tell them: It is my first blizzard!

Although my first blizzard was not as big as what I expected – we did not get 13 inches – I still enjoyed seeing the snow and feel lucky to witness the first blizzard history in life.

You might be a Chicagoan or come from other cold areas, so you are used to seeing snow or experiencing a blizzard. Maybe you hate snow and laugh at me. As a Floridian, I always think it is a wonderful experience in the crazy snow world. I love to walk on the soft snow, leaving my footprints. I think the snow looks like white marshmallows. We never see such marshmallows on trees and chairs in Florida. So this is a fortunate experience.

I still consider myself a traditional Floridian, not a Chicagoan, but I enjoy writing stories in this unique new town, too. It is really cold for us. We are not used to wearing gloves, hats, scarves and heavy coats all the time. I like to wear sandals to go to beach, listen to the sound of the ocean, walk into the sand and water, feel the sunshine. I think Florida beaches are amazing.

Now it is time for me to visit my sweet home – Florida. The sunshine, ocean, beach, blue sky and warm temperature are calling me. But most importantly, my “best family members” are calling. My next adventure will be at home… I can’t wait! It will be a fantastic story about a Floridian back home again. Stay Tuned!