Ready to see some gators!!
Zach said that he wasn't going to the Everglades unless we could take an airboat ride. So we did.
It was a fun mix of loud thrill ride meets educational experience...
with gators.
Our tickets for the airboat ride also included a wildlife show. There were gators (of course) and a scorpion and a bird and this toad. Not sure I loved being pulled out of the crowd to see if I could turn this toad into a prince, but the kids thought it was pretty great. I wasn't overly impressed with the show, but I was glad that Zach could cross airboat ride off his list of Everglades musts.
We then headed to the Shark Valley entrance where we walked the short Bobcat Boardwalk and then walked a few miles out and back on the Shark Valley Tram Road.
Along the Tram Road, we saw plenty of gators sunning themselves along the side of the road, as well as turtles, fish, and a variety of birds.
We also saw two nests of baby alligators. They were actually pretty cute, although we resisted the urge to pick any up and bring them home with us.
Although the day started out a little cool and overcast, the sun came out for a bit in the afternoon and it warmed up quickly.
After checking out the wildlife on the Tram Road, we then headed to the park entrance closer to Homestead. On our way to the Ernest F. Coe entrance, we stopped for a late lunch at an authentic Mexican food truck. It was yummy!! Zach declared it one of his favorite meals of the whole trip.
Once in the other section of the park, we hiked the Anhinga Trail, which was a relatively short and easy path and boardwalk trail. We saw plenty of wildlife. Like gators.
On this trail, there were plentiful gators, including 2 that were resting right on the trail. It was a little harder to give them a wide berth when they were taking up half the trail. A bit unnerving as we scooted around them...quickly.
We also saw more birds, fish, and turtles along this trail as well.
We also walked through the short Gumbo Limbo paved trail. This was a more wooded, less wildlife-y trail. I can't say that I didn't keep my eyes out for gators lurking in the woods.
To end our day, we stopped at the famous Robert is Here exotic fruit stand. We stocked up on novel fruits like dragonfruit, thai and mansana bananas, mangoes, and some sort of imported hybrid orange, as well as fresh squeezed Florida orange juice. Since we had a late lunch, we then decided to just get fresh fruit smoothies and milkshakes for dinner. It was by far the best smoothie I have ever had, and it was one of my favorite "meals" of the trip. So good!!! If we ever go back, I'm getting another banana-mango-passion fruit smoothie.
It was a good day in the Everglades. Airboats and gators and smoothies, oh my!
