Sept 26, 2010 "Illinois TROUBLE"

It was a welcomed phone call that I received from our scheduller about doing a full day Everglades tour today, even though it is normally a day off that is shared by my wife Sonja. However, today, Sonja had some things to do so I knew it was my day to head to the glades!

After picking up a rowdy group of folks from Illinois, I began to develop thoughts on how I was gonna lose a couple of them as soon as I got them out into the wilderness! Yep, it's true! Heather, yes HEATHER, started off simple telling me that she did not like me ALREADY after like 2 minutes of knowing me! Now, to be honest, I think she simply overstated that because by the end of the day HEATHER, yes the one who said she would NEVER hold a snake, DID! And an alligator, and a bird! Yep, she did! And the pictures prove it!

I am not sure she ever really ended up liking me, but that's OK! At least I did not throw her butt off the boat or into the Turner river! She did make it through the day and I delivered them safely back to their car after a long, hot, humid day!

It was a fun day, we did see plenty of gators, and had a great time playing with snakes and other wildlife! As always the airboat ride was great, the weather held, and everyone had a blast. Captain Gary did an excellent job with the airboat and of course Captain Denny had fun with us showing off his "alligator" talents with Buster and the other 6 footer that he lured up on the deck.

I think for me, the prize of the day, was when Rick brought "Goldie", the 17 and a half foot Reticulated Python out of the cage and had me help him move her outside so we could see how beautiful her colors were in the sunlight! Yes, this snake is 170lbs of strong muscle and moving her is much more difficult than you think it would be!

Thanks folks for joining me today! I hope you had a good time and I hope you share these pics and videos with your friends and family!