Weddings and Gators........

Congratulations Ronnie and Katie! After the wedding and all the visiting, it was on the road heading north.



We took the kids to the Okefenokee Swamp. Here one can get up close and personal with the snakes and gators. Being from Virginia, gators have always been just the coolest thing for us.







My dad was from Georgia and he and my mom took me and my sisters to the swamp eons ago, when we were just kids. We rented a jon boat and went into the swamp. (A brave man to take my mom and 3 little girls deep into gator country...) My sisters and I were simultaneously mesmerized and terrified as my dad slapped the top of the water with a paddle to make the gators come up. And up they came. Ahhhhh!!!! That boat got small really fast.




So, naturally, I wanted to give my children the same terrifying experience.







I must say that the gators were actually BIGGER than I remembered. It seems that the jon boats are no longer available. You have a choice: Take the guided 30 min motor boat tour or rent canoes and go it alone. So what's it gonna be? Wimpy boat tour for babies and blue hairs........or will you find out what you're made of?







We paid $$ and were given a hastily sketched map of the swamp.



We made our way down a small dock, where we came to a sort of make shift office with all sorts of pictures taped up on it. Pictures of gators...........lots and lots of gators. As we grabbed our life jackets and canoes, the old guy helping us kept saying, "Naw, naw, you'll do jest fine.....you ain't gotta worry about no gators........and you cain't get lost..............jest stay in the water and you'll do jest fine". And just as we were stepping into our canoe at the dock........we saw this guy. Swimming up right by our inlet. (gulp)The only other people in the park were all waiting for the tour on the other side of the river. They were all just watching us . I tried to look brave. "heh, heh....do it all the time, folks."We got our paddles and we were off. The last thing that the old guy called out to us was, "Try and be back by 4:30!!!"



Ummm......it's 12:00..........AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Savannah and Austin were in front of us. We were off.

We never saw another soul the entire time we were out. It was so incredibly quiet. And take a look at that water. It literally plays tricks on your eyes. The water is so dark that it is a perfect mirror, and unless your paddle..........or something else........is going through it...it is perfectly still.It was just as beautiful as I remembered it when I was a kid. I was so busy taking it all in that I almost didn't spot this big mama. She was laying out on the bank sunning herself. She had a few babies that were nearby. Now. I was super excited to see this big gator . ANd I thought that we were going to have to strap Jack down into the boat with the straps from our life vests. Jackson has grand visions of becoming the next Steve Irwin and I have NO DOUBT that if we had let him, he would have been out of that canoe in one heartbeat.I was so busy taking it all in that I almost didn't spot this big mama. She was laying out on the bank sunning herself. She had a few babies that were nearby. Now. I was super excited to see this big gator . ANd I thought that we were going to have to strap Jack down into the boat with the straps from our life vests. Jackson has grand visions of becoming the next Steve Irwin and I have NO DOUBT that if we had let him, he would have been out of that canoe in one heartbeat. You can see here that we have eased up on her. I am the one taking the pictures, and I didn't zoom in here. You can see her eye already on us.
This was plenty close enough for me. But Ohhhhh....Noooooo.......we have to paddle CLOSER. I swear if that thing had ONE move, I'd have walked on top of the water to get away. I kept pleading with Race, "O.k, O.k, I don't wanna go any closer"...followed by my hoarse whisper, "STOP!" All the while, Jack is saying "Why can't we get closer?", Can I get out of the canoe?", Can we just paddle over there (pointing to a nearby bank) so that I can get out and try to get closer to her?"

Before we were out of there, we saw this big fella. He didn't mind us at all. He was only concerned about soaking up the sun. But just look how BIG he is!
When we got back we turned in our canoes to the same old guy, and took a look around the park. I asked about the old gator "Oscar". He had been a fixture around there forever and he was already old when my sisters and I had visited. Imagine my surprise to learn that "Oscar" had just passed away last year! But you know what? As it was related to me:
" They wanted $40,000 to mount him....and we said nuh-uh. NO WAY. So, we took him out back and skinned him and let the bugs and things clean the bones.......and now we're boilin' em and puttin' em' back together in a nice disply over in the museum."

And sure enough. I went to the museum, and there was PART of "Oscar's" skeleton.....the other bones were still being boiled and cleaned.

I can tell you in all honesty that the tiny, one room museum that was there has the EXACT same exhibits that it did when my sisters and I were there as children. No, I mean it. It's like it had been sealed off for all those years. I felt like I was the first person to enter it since that time. EVERYTHING was the same..........only older..........and dustier. I loved it!!!!!! It was a great trip. I can't wait to tell you a few of our stories from the road.

And now I leave you with this:

Only in the state of Georgia can a boy get a picture taken of himself like this: For Jack....this made it all worth it. Great stuff!