Famous Florida Alligators

Yes, the title did indicate that there would be Florida alligators in this post and they will get their time in the spotlight shortly, but this is a beer site first and that means I get my moment in the spotlight first.  If only for a day or two I get to be famous in the beer blogging world because The Beer Wench was nice enough to give me some face time on her site.  You can check it out here and I will also be adding a link to the “About” page above since it does answer many questions about me.  Thank you to The Beer Wench!

Check me out!

Now then, back to the gators and other creatures we encountered over the weekend.

There were a few that I wanted to take home.

And some that I backed away slowly from.

If you were wondering where “The alligator capital of the world” is and what “Orlando’s best half day attraction” is, the answer to both would be Gatorland.  It was another place in Central Florida that The Wife and I had never been to despite the many years we have now lived here.  The incentive of the last few days for a Florida resident discount was enough of an excuse for us to finally go, even on what turned out to be a very rainy (and somewhat cold) day.

Not sure what the gloves were for.

Keep hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.

There is, as expected, an incredible number of deadly reptiles at this place.  I will just say there was no time where I thought maybe it would be a good idea to disobey the warning signs to get a closer look.  There was no way that I was going to wander into the restricted areas along the swamp path or reach over the railing for a better photo, though a brief dream of gator wrestling did enter my mind.

Fortunately behind glass.

Not up to feeding alligators quite yet.

On top of seeing some pretty interesting and in some cases rare animals, the visit also had the added bonus of extended laughter for me as well.  Check out a little of the video that I took of The Wife conquering her fear of birds.  The facial expressions are just priceless (and yes we were both wearing Syracuse gear)!

White alligators were a first for me.

Despite the weather, we did have a good time and though we can cross it off the list now, it is a good place to see if you have an opportunity, especially for those visiting from out of state.  It is similar to our visit to see the manatees (though more expensive) in that you can’t see these creatures in that kind of environment just anywhere.

Did I mention that I can fly?

Back to beer tomorrow!