Happy New Year!
Last year Stevie and I barely even made it to 9pm before calling it a night. This year we did a little better and called it quits just before midnight. The good thing about being boring parents and going to bed early and barely drinking anything is not having to wake up tired and hungover.
We decided to start the new year off right with a trip to Everglades National Park, about an hour away from Stevie's childhood home near Fort Lauderdale. Stevie's mother watched Neale for us while we stole her car and made the drive west.
I'm a bit of a National Parks fanatic, but being from the northeast, I don't get my chance to visit many of them. We come down to Florida once or twice a year to visit Stevie's family, and I'd been lobbying for a side trip to the Everglades for years, and so I was pretty excited to visit today.
Our first stop was a commercial outfit that provided airboat tours, kitchy alligator souvenirs and alligator wrestling demonstrations.
I even got to hold an alligator:
Our second stop was at a restaurant that served fried alligator and frog legs.
This last stop included a brochure on the Everglades complete with a detailed map. I realized we only scratched the surface of the park today, and I'm now a bit obsessed with coming back and exploring more, perhaps even camping on the beach sometime.
The good news is, after today's experiences, Stevie now tells me I'm an honorary Floridian.
Last year Stevie and I barely even made it to 9pm before calling it a night. This year we did a little better and called it quits just before midnight. The good thing about being boring parents and going to bed early and barely drinking anything is not having to wake up tired and hungover.
We decided to start the new year off right with a trip to Everglades National Park, about an hour away from Stevie's childhood home near Fort Lauderdale. Stevie's mother watched Neale for us while we stole her car and made the drive west.
I'm a bit of a National Parks fanatic, but being from the northeast, I don't get my chance to visit many of them. We come down to Florida once or twice a year to visit Stevie's family, and I'd been lobbying for a side trip to the Everglades for years, and so I was pretty excited to visit today.
Our first stop was a commercial outfit that provided airboat tours, kitchy alligator souvenirs and alligator wrestling demonstrations.
I even got to hold an alligator:
Our second stop was at a restaurant that served fried alligator and frog legs.
Our last stop of the day was at an official national park visitors' center where we went for a walk and saw a lot of wild alligators, including many baby alligators.
The good news is, after today's experiences, Stevie now tells me I'm an honorary Floridian.
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