Everglades National Park

I have heard a lot of people talk about going to the Everglades and taking an airboat tour.  It's something both Leos and I have never done, so we thought we might as well give it a try.  We went to the airport to rent a car and we were on our way.  Since I have my California license, it was easier to just have me drive.  We did our research about different airboat places and decided on one.  The drive wasn't that long and it was quite nice.  We didn't need a reservation which was great.  We just parked the car, bought our tickets and waited in line.  Luckily, there were several people in front of us so we didn't need to wait that long.  Our boat was full of Polish people.  I do not know if they understood the guide that well, but it didn't matter.  Our guide was nice and informed us about the Everglades.  He went at full speed and it was a thrill being on the boat.  We were in the back and the fan was quite loud. We saw a few alligators, turtles and birds.  It was nice to see a different kind of natural scenery that I had never seen before.  After the ride, there was an informative talk about some animals.  The instructor was quite funny and he showed us some nice animals.  When everything was done, we asked the ticket sellers about the fee we paid for the National Park, like if there were other locations we could drive to to see more.  He told us to go to Shark Valley.  We drove there, parked our car and headed to the entrance.  Before the entrance there was already an alligator laying so close to the main road.  There were three other people who were walking behind us to the entrance.  They didn't stop at the ticket counter, they just walked in.  When the ranger wanted to charge us a ridiculous amount to enter the park, I asked him about the three other people that just strolled in and didn't pay anything.  He thought about it and said, well I didn't charge them, so I can't charge you guys.  I was happy with that.  Once inside the park, we randomly walked where we wanted to and came across several alligators.  It was scary, but cool to see them so up close.  None of them moved, they were all just enjoying the heat from the sun.  It was a great day in nature and nice to see all the wild animals in their own environment. 

                                    always seeing chicken and roosters on the streets in Miami
                                       
                                                        nice to be driving again

                                                            gun show?!

                                        

    

                                        

                                                                first alligator

                                                            can you see the turtle

                                      

                                                 

                                                            the guide fed the fish with plants

                                                            soft shell turtle

                                                 had to get an alligator to wear my glasses~!

                                                                entering Shark Valley

                                                                        so close!!

                                              can you see the two alligators in the picture?

                                                                    alligator poop

                                                Leos finally got his milkshake