Air Boat Ride

We went for an air boat ride in Christmas, Florida.

They had different animal exhibits.  Several large snakes, some birds, a working bee hive (between 2 pieces of glass) and this pig.

It was HUGE.  The owners said they fed it too much when it was small.  It looks like it wouldn't be able to walk, but they said he goes outside every day.  This was his nap time.

This is the airboat we rode on, there were only 8 of us.  Look at the big fan in the back.

We went down the St.Johns River, the longest river in Florida.  It's also the only river in the eastern U.S. that flows north.

These birds called Egrets are tall and slim but have such a wing-span which makes them beautiful in flight, especially when they first take off.

The water was quite shallow in alot of places and the strangest looking thing were the cattle fields that look like they're right in the river.  Check out this cow walking in the water. 

Look at them, they almost look like they're walking on water.  And check out the alligator, they don't bother the cows.

The noise of the engine and the fan was so loud we needed to wear headsets so we could hear the boat operator and ask questions.

Cattle again, makes you wonder how they got on that little piece of land.  They look stranded, but they're not.

More alligators, they were all over the place.

See the baby calves?

It was so swampy sometimes it looked like we were headed for land, a little scary when you're going 45 mph. 

This place was awesome, you can see the different water levels through the years.  He pointed out the different hurricanes based on the different water lines on the trees.

These are cypress trees.  Those things comming up through the ground are not cut trees, they call them knees.  They come up from the roots.  They're kind of cool.

And here we are back to the dock.

Can you believe I'm actually holding a baby alligator?  Notice its mouth is tied closed.  All in all, this was a very fun and interesting trip.