Airboat Fun!

Once again I had the chance to guide a few folks on a full day Everglades safari! The weather started off a little bit on the cool side but by the time we really got out of the van for some touring, we started to feel the heat of the sun and it dawned on me the the gators had the right idea! Sunning themselves on the banks of the river in the winter makes sense! Even if the air is cold, that sun works miracles! Wish I had scoots sometimes to absorb that energy like those on the backs of the alligator. Well, I guess that would look weird when I was walking down the beach!

Anyway, our day went well. I met some great people from here in Ft. Myers as well as others from Victoria BC! That's another country, you know!

All in all the day went well, we saw tons of birds and alligators and as always the animals at the interactive animal farm were fun! Got some great pics to share with you!

Of course the airboat ride is always fun and I was able to put some great videos on my cam as Corey piloted the green boat alongside the boat my guests were on and I had fun dong it.

Hope you enjoy and I hope my guests had a good day. Until later! I'm headed out now for yet another South Florida Adventure!

New Pics from the 23rd!

Hey thanks to my friends who sent pics from our Everglades Adventure on the 23rd! Hope you all enjoy! Thanks guys you pulled me out!

Sunset Cruise

My day started by heading out to the marina to move the boat to the splash dock so that the marvelous marine techs at Snook Bight Marina can do their magic and keep us in business. For Mike and Cristina, keeping their equipment in top shape is a priority. If a van or boat breaks down on the summer out of season it can cost the business money but if it happens IN season it can cost thousands of dollars of lost revenue! Not a good thing!

The skies were bright and sunny but the breeze was stiff and the air was cold! I still felt comfortable at the marina. I love being around the water and around boats. It's in my blood. Kenny Chesney sings a song called "French Kissing Life" and boy does that describe how I feel about my life here on the island!

I guess to some degree I'm not complete, but, I'm not far from being there! I don't need to be famous, I just want to feel free and that's what I feel! Freedom!

So after my chore of moving the boat was over, I headed home to cut the grass and do some chores there at the house. Then MORE free feelings as I jumped on my new bicycle and headed up island for a 12-mile spin. I decided that since I was expending some energy and the internal oven was upping my metabolism that I would "refill" my tanks by visiting Surf Pie at Times Square for a slice of Tomato Basil pizza pie and a Cream Soda. Ummmmmmm! So good!

Of course all good things must come to an end so I saddled back up on my cruiser and headed back south to prepare for my afternoon tours. I did not have a 3:00pm dolphin tour, so after checking on the progress of the boat and seeing that it was pretty much done, I headed home for a couple of hours.

I did have a sunset cruise and decided to leave home early so that I could give myself plenty of time in case I had to reposition the boat or wait in traffic. Believe it or not, even though I live only 2.5 miles from the marina, traffic this time of year can cause an issue for me at times. However, today was not one of those days, I arrived at the marina with plenty of time on my hands so I pulled out a copy of Latitudes and Attitudes (sailing magazine) and caught up on some of my reading while I listened to some Caribbean and Latin music.

My customers arrived around 5:00pm and after a few minutes of loitering around the marina they finally made their way to the boat where I boarded them and gave them their safety briefing. After I made sure we had no walk-ons for a last minute cruise, I headed out for our night in the brisk air.

It was a wonderful night and our four, yes, four customers, who braved this cold windy night, had a wonderful show from the dolphins and a beautiful sunset.

I hope the pics show just how great it was. I had a good time for sure, but, then again, I was on the water. In a boat. With dolphins and the sunset. And eagles and pelicans and egrets and on and on and on and on! Yeah, I was in my element. I was with nature. I was experiencing another wonderful South Florida Adventure!

Arrrrggggghhhhhh! I'M AN IDIOT!

OK so today was a wonderful day full of fun and adventure with twelve "super duper" fun filled people that just made my day special! I took photo after photo of them and relished the time I could come home and download them and relive the moments of the day seeing their bright shiney smiles and all of the fun we had together.

So, I open my camera up to take out the memory card... you know that little black box you have to have in there to store the 426 pictures you took today, and guess what? Really? You guessed so easily! Yep, you are right! IT WAS NOT THERE! OH DAMN! I did not do that! I would not have been so stupid to go all day clicking away at the button on top of that camera, hauling it up and down, out and about, sneaking up on my prey, snapping the button and FOR WHAT! NOTHING! No pics. What a great group, very photogenic, very fun, smiles and all and... NO PICS! Goodness gracious I am an IDIOT! Please forgive me folks. I cannot believe, after all of my journeys, I do not have this down pat!

BUT WAIT! AH, look here on my iPhone! YES I DID manage to snap a few from my iPhone! And YES they are HERE!

So, with that said, for all my friends from today's journey, I beg forgiveness and hope you enjoyed at least some of the viewing pleasure from yet another South Florida Adventure with me, Gator "Idiot" D!

P.S. If any one of you that were on my journey today have any photos that you would not mind me sharing on my blog and can send them to me digitally at southfloridaadventures@yahoo.com

I would GREATLY appreciate it and I will do a SECOND post on our wonderful trip today! Thanks Folks!

It's Tough When It's Someone You Know!

Some days you never know what is gonna "pop up" in your path into "today"! On this occasion, it was the third pickup of my full day Everglades trip and I drove up to see Ashley and Jesse, daughters of one of our friends standing there with their friend Andy waiting for me to pick them up for a trip to the Everglades. To be honest, this always makes me nervous because with "strangers" if you screw up during the day, or don't entertain well, it's no big deal because you probably will never see them again.

But with acquaintances, with friends, with family, you know you WILL see them again! Did they enjoy it? Did they have fun? WHO REALLY KNOWS!? People are kind, and in general, don't want to make others feel bad no matter what. So, it's risky to go out with friends. But, sometimes, you've just got to say "what the hell" and do it anyway cause that's your assignment.

So, off I went to the glades with folks who were more then strangers! The good thing was that I was not just with them, but with a few others who I DID NOT know prior to today! Does that take pressure off one? Well, no, it does not! I take pride in my work and want EVERYONE to enjoy it.

As we headed to the everglades, the weather was still cool, still "iffy" but all in all it cooperated and we had a great time. I always try to educate folks on the Everglades, its plants and animals and the "state" in which we find it. I talk a lot about the past, present and future of this wilderness known as the "River Of Grass". I hope it is good. I hope others learn even a small amount of the facts about this vast wetland. I also hope that for whatever reason, even in a small amount, that others see that saving our natural environment is of utmost importance. Humans are on the way out IF we can't find a way to balance our existence with nature. I think it is plain and simple. But we must take action and reverse the negative effects we have had on nature. I hope my guests leave me with a better understanding of the Everglades and a concern for the "rebuilding" of this great eco-environment.

Please enjoy these pics and know that I am on the side of nature and a good, healthy balance between man and nature here in our South Florida Adventure!

Gator D was LATE with this blog!

Hey folks, sorry I did not get this one in on time. Sometimes the best intentions are met with disaster! Would it help to say that a herd of elephants ran through my yard, knocked down a very large coconut palm tree that happened to fall right through my window, landing directly on my ATT wireless modem box and crushed it so that it would not work? OK... well, I gave it a try!

The truth is I was tired on the 18th and off on the 19th so on the 19th I was too busy being bored to do my blog 'cause being off doesn't set well with my spirit and my spirit acted up by being bad and the being bad was procrastinating getting my blog from the day before done. So, here I am, doing the blog from the 18th on the 20th. I hope you understand!

I had a very nice, long day on the 18th starting with a half day Everglades trip with a wonderful group of folks. We had pretty decent weather, still cold but "do-able" compared to the earlier days of the month, but all in all we survived well and enjoyed the day.

Moving on, my afternoon included a 3:00pm Dolphin Watch and a Sunset Cruise. I must say that all three of my tours were very good and very much tiresome for me. Not because of the people but because of my FUN! Fun is tiresome don't you think? You expend a lot of energy laughing, talking, moving, "cutting-up" and such. So by the end of the day, oh I already said it, I WAS TIRED.

And to top it off, the last group of folks were HOCKEY FANS! All the way from Kalamazoo Michigan (not sure if I spelled it right or not) but BOY were these folks wild and crazy. Especially SLAPPY! Slappy is the mascot for the Kalamazoo hockey team who was visiting us in South Florida to play the Everblades. It is my understanding that Slappy, the mascot, is a KING FISHER. Now, here, in Florida, the Kingfisher is NOT GREEN. Slappy was GREEN. OK, so, does that mean that the Kingfisher in Michigan is green or weird? I don't know, just asking! No, all kidding aside I had a BLAST with these folks and we DID see Dolphins!

GOOD FOR ME! I think I sweated a little when one of the visiting ladies spoke a jinx on the way aboard the boat in the question of "DO YOU GUARANTEE WE WILL SEE DOLPHINS?" I hate that question! It sets me up for failure EVERYTIME! So I pretended not to hear her and went about my business and on sighting our first dolphin I hollered out YES I GUARANTEE IT! ! Whew! I hate those jinxy questions! Just kidding, kind lady from Michigan!

It was a fun day for me and I hope a fun day for my guests on these journeys. Until another day, I am happy to have shared yet another South Florida Adventure with you!