mom2rtk
Invented the term "Characterpalooza"
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
Monday June 1, 2015:
So I can't remember the last time we saw gators in Ding Darling. So I decided this time we weren't going to leave things up to chance. We decided to go find the gators. No, we didn't go offroad at Ding Darling. Instead we made reservations for an airboat ride. I had done one of these many years ago when I was in Miami on a training trip for work. I was really looking forward to trying it again. Unfortunately not everyone was as excited about giving this a try as Drew and I were. Timmy and Katie decided to sleep in that morning so Timmy became an only child for the morning.
Sanibel isn't really close to the Everglades so we decided to try "Airboats and Alligators" at Lake Trafford. I think it was about an hour and 15 minutes from our resort. It had gotten really good reviews online. We scheduled for 9 AM, hoping to avoid being out in the worst heat of the day.
I was up for sunrise and took a walk down to the beach before we left.
The clouds were interesting, but not as menacing as they were a couple nights earlier.
IMG_3460 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3470 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3480 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3508 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3533 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3542 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
Some flowers on the grounds of the resort:
IMG_3580 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
It was a pretty small outfit, looking almost like it was out behind someone's house. But we loved our guide and were not the least bit disappointed in the experience. It was clear our guide knew what he was doing and knew where to find the best wildlife.
Did I mention wanting to see gators? Well, we saw gators. LOTS of gators. I should have counted but there had to have been dozens of them.
I was very happy we took an early time as it was just us and the guide, so it felt like a personal tour.
I'm not a big bird person. But this outing almost turned me into one. There was just something about seeing these beautiful birds out on the water that made a bird lover out of me, even if was just for the day.
IMG_3582 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3587 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3618 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3627 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3653 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3686 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3688 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
Roseate Spoonbill by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3744 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3782 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3782-3 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3804 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3831 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3844 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
So I can't remember the last time we saw gators in Ding Darling. So I decided this time we weren't going to leave things up to chance. We decided to go find the gators. No, we didn't go offroad at Ding Darling. Instead we made reservations for an airboat ride. I had done one of these many years ago when I was in Miami on a training trip for work. I was really looking forward to trying it again. Unfortunately not everyone was as excited about giving this a try as Drew and I were. Timmy and Katie decided to sleep in that morning so Timmy became an only child for the morning.
Sanibel isn't really close to the Everglades so we decided to try "Airboats and Alligators" at Lake Trafford. I think it was about an hour and 15 minutes from our resort. It had gotten really good reviews online. We scheduled for 9 AM, hoping to avoid being out in the worst heat of the day.
I was up for sunrise and took a walk down to the beach before we left.
The clouds were interesting, but not as menacing as they were a couple nights earlier.
IMG_3460 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3470 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3480 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3508 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3533 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3542 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
Some flowers on the grounds of the resort:
IMG_3580 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
It was a pretty small outfit, looking almost like it was out behind someone's house. But we loved our guide and were not the least bit disappointed in the experience. It was clear our guide knew what he was doing and knew where to find the best wildlife.
Did I mention wanting to see gators? Well, we saw gators. LOTS of gators. I should have counted but there had to have been dozens of them.
I was very happy we took an early time as it was just us and the guide, so it felt like a personal tour.
I'm not a big bird person. But this outing almost turned me into one. There was just something about seeing these beautiful birds out on the water that made a bird lover out of me, even if was just for the day.
IMG_3582 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3587 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3618 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3627 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3653 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3686 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3688 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
Roseate Spoonbill by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3744 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3782 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3782-3 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3804 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3831 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
IMG_3844 by mom2rtk, on Flickr