Gators, Snakes, and a bite

This post is for Holly...my most avid blog reader:) After our road trip we started realizing all the natural wonders that other states have. Although we love living in Texas we had a hard time thinking of something natural that is really cool here besides bluebonnets:) Then we went to Beaumont to visit grandma and grandpa... Grandma took us to Gator Country. We're not talkin' Sea World-fancy-pants-wetsuits-save-the-whales-attitude here. These boys were the real deal. They love the animals of course but they also serve some deep south gator gumbo at their restaurant. The owner comes out starting the educational show late because he had to quickly fix a fence ( you know, the ones that seperate us from the 200 gators there) wearing a brimed hat and a T-shirt that said "Quick hands or No hands". His 15 year-old assistant later told us he'd only been working there 3 months. I was shocked since i just watched him step into the swamp barefooted, pet, and feed the 13 foot Alligator, "Big Al". He told me, as if to reassure me, "Me and my dad used to catch gators all the time. I road on one when i was just 5 years old". The show was very interesting and entertaining. We got to pet everything from young gators, crocs, and my least favorite...the 125 lb banana python (which they found in a Houston apt.) After Hurricane Ike last year they helped save over 75 alligators. They have been nominated as Animal Heros of the Year by Animal Planet and are currently working on signing a contract with A&E or TLC for their own TV show....now i really gotta get cable.

The best part was that my child who is affraid of air, actually loved it! Kolby was so brave pet everything and he held the gator (who was born with a defective jaw...he can't clamp down---stop thinking I'm a crazy mother...) for our family pic and giggled when it squirmed around. Olivia of course could not wait patiently in line with the rest of us and marched herself to the front of the line, sat on the bench, held her arms out, smiled, and handed the gator back.

Suprisingly after handling all these creatures Olivia came home with some strange bites from a spider of all things (i think).

So there you have it. Texas has Gator Country, gator gumbo and some of the nastiest bugs known to man. We knew there was a reason we loved it here.