I believe that the best way to learn about something is to go out and do it. If you want to make bread, you get out the flour. If you want to learn about waste management you go to the landfill. If you want to learn about alligators, you cruise for about an hour out of Orlando. Drive to the backside of a RV park. Pull up to the shack with old men in dirty t-shirts sitting out front and go on an airboat ride.
On the way in, we saw a guy pulled over on the side of the road getting a speeding ticket. He didn’t look too happy. He wasn’t any happier when he walked in and asked if we were going on the airboat ride with him. We stood there and nodded. I silently questioned our safety.
“We’ll lets get this show on the road!”, he snapped.
I thought, ‘Yes! This is going to be great!’
After a very fast lecture about air boat safety and bugs we were off. And I don’t mean we slowly pulled away from the shore and began our tour. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t in the best mood. His mood did improve a bit when he ran over a duck.
We drove around for awhile chasing ducks then he suddenly stopped.
“Do you see it?”, He asked.
We were all looking around trying to figure out what he was talking about. Best I can figure we missed seeing an alligator. I’m really not sure and I was too afraid to ask. He drove on to a marshy area. There were alligators all over the place. It was great. I asked him if alligators ate birds. I should have kept my mouth shut.
“No, birds eat the alligators” he snapped. Ummm, ok.
Then he asked, “Do you want the usual or do you want me to tell you the truth and ruin your day?” I meekly asked for truth.
He spent about 30 minutes talking about the tourists and how they are basically good for nothing idiots. Then he explained the eco-system. Eagles and Heron are the alpha predators. They eat tons of baby alligators. He explained the poaching policy. No one cares. He talked about all the rare birds in the area and how no one appreciates them. We saw a snail kite, there are only about 400 in the area. We also saw over a dozen alligators. Cool days are the best to see alligators. My daughter told him that was because they were cold blooded and liked the sun. He started waving his hands around praised her for being the first to ever say that.
The ride back was at top speed. We hit an alligator. The alligator didn’t seem to mind. The kids couldn’t stop laughing.
All in all it was a great trip. If you’re ever in Orlando, Florida be sure to take a ride with Chris at Glades Adventures and ask for the “Ruin your day tour” It’s well worth the money.
Leave a Reply