Yesterday we spent the day in the everglades for Father's Day. The girls thought it would be a fun outing with their dad to do the whole airboat thing and see an alligator show. We've lived in south Florida for a year now and haven't ever been on an airboat or seen an alligator show, so it sounded like a good thing for dear ol' dad. The everglades are huge, and as beautiful as it is, it is also very dangerous.
The weather was beautiful, not as hot as it usually is in June, and the captain of our airboat gave us a great tour of the beautiful everglades. We saw 3 alligators and many different species of wildlife. He explained about the exotic vegetation that grows there (most of it is dangerous), the insects that live there (most of them are dangerous) and to never put any body parts over the edge of the boat or in the water (also extremely dangerous). The alligator show was interesting, although it's not a career I'd fancy,it was pretty cool. The show on Animal Planet Gator Boys is shot there and our gator show entertainer J-Mart is on the show. We held a small baby alligator, and while it used my hand as a diaper, the little gator dude was pretty neat, too. It's crazy to think all of this is literally in our backyard, like our house was the everglades at one day long ago. We often have gators found in residential areas, and it's not strange to hear about people finding gators in the small lakes behind their homes or even in their swimming pools. One thing is for sure, the everglades are beautiful, mysterious, and for sure someplace you do not want to get lost. (or run out of hand santizer).
