This is my big brother Mark. He and his wife Dot winter in Florida near lake Okeechobee. While we were there visiting my brother took us out in his fishing boat on the adventure of a lifetime. We took this little boat into a waterway where we came face to face with alligators in the wild. One was as long as our boat. In one of my photos you can see the front of the boat, we were within ten feet of this monster and my heart was beating 100 miles an hour. This was the highlight of our trip and a memory that Steve and I will carry with us forever.
This is my Steve with Mark's fishing boat.
This is a photo of the biggest alligator.
He was about the same length as our boat and he was by far the widest one we saw too.
This photo and the one following this one shows just how close we got. The white blur is the nose of our boat.
Just another day in Gatorville. What surprised Steve and I the most, was when we returned to Mark's house and told our story. To us this was HIGH ADVENTURE but to the folks that live in this area, it was just another day is Florida.
The scenery was beautiful
and the wildlife incredible.
We sure don't see this in our home
state of Washington.
We ended our adventure with a trip
to the local grocery store to purchase
some gator meat.
"When in Rome"
Well, when in Florida you must give it a try, right?
It does not taste like chicken,
but it does taste like pork.
The dark meat on this platter is the gator and the lighter colored is local crappy.
I can see why my brother loves this country. It has a captivating beauty.
It also has an extraordinary danger. Especially in the Lake Okeechobee area.
It is not a place for hiking or midnight strolls (at lease not for this girl).
Amazing photography. thank you so much for following and visiting my blog. We are near neighbors, Connie!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and so glad you liked the photos. I love your post "Shoppe Around the Corner" and I'm captivated by the clocks, how humorously charming. Come by again and think about becoming a follower, I think we might have more in common.
DeleteOh wow!! Those things are HUGE! LOL Looks like quite an adventure :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Lisa
PS can you please send me an email at happymama.art@gmail.com I've moved my blog and I want to invite you over to the new one. Thank you friend!
Hi Liza, I'm already on board with your new blog. Thanks for the invite. Yes, it was quite an adventure!
ReplyDeleteHi Connie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping over at my blog. I appreciate it.
Great pictures. The pictures of the alligator up close are wonderful. I have never seen a live alligator and I think I would have been completely scared. Kudos for your bravery.
Have a beautiful weekend.
It was a very exciting trip and I'm so glad that I did it. I would probably not do it again . . . why take the chance. They lay so very still until you are right up on them, then when they jump into the water they sometimes flip their whole body around. I'm sure that they could flip your boat (at least the small boat that we were in) or even just rock it enough to make you loose your balance if you were not being careful. Yep, glad I did it, but never again! So happy to be alive and not some gator's dinner.
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DeleteWelcome to the blogging world! I'm your 66th follower and look forward to reading your upcoming posts!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your weight loss! I'm trying to lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle. ~ Ellen
Thanks for visiting. Did you like how close me got to those alligators? I can not believe I let my brother talk me into it.
DeleteConnie
My dad used to fry up gator, you are right, very much like pork! It was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThis little side trip was the best part of our visit to the Sunshine State. I'm reaching the age where I do not eat much deep fried food, but I have to say it was quite good and I'm very glad I gave it a try. Thanks for the sweet visit, Connie
DeleteWhat great photos! Looks like a great time. I think I've been watching too much "swamp people", even though I'm a huge animal lover, I was thinking "I wonder how much that sucker weighs!"
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what he might weigh, but what I've heard is that once they reach a certain length (and my brother said he looked about 14 feet), then they start getting wider. I would like to know how old he is . . . I have heard they get pretty old. Thank you for your sweet and very welcome visit. I love getting company. Connie
Deletethanks for stopping bye...i would love tea at your place...ha! forgot to tell you i love your artwork...my teenage daughter is an artist as well..she does pretty good trying to get her to stay in it....and maybe try to do some murals on walls..thanks again for coming bye...xoxo ~sabri~
ReplyDeleteKeep encouraging her . . . I have done some mural work. One was in a new home's master bedroom and when I got there to do the mural, they had just laid down wall to wall white carpet. I was scared to death, because I am not the neatest artist. Thank the Good Lord, I didn't spill a drop. Of course I had plastic drop cloths down, but I have been known to have spills that would have needed more protection than that. I believe that the best thing for a budding artist is a supportive Mom. Always let her know that you believe in her talent. your blogging friend, Connie
Deletep.s.i remember when we lived in Florida..was always scared of running into a gator..the most i got was lizards running across my feet and walkway to the beach we had as our back yard..i am not sure i would have been brave enough for this adventure ! you go girl !
ReplyDeleteI would have never gone, except that my brother goes out all the time and he convinced us it would be fine. I'm glad I went, but would not do it again, why gamble? Thank you for the sweet comment and thank you for deciding to follow my blog. Have a wonderful weekend, Connie :)
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