Boggy Creek

Shades of redneck country!
On my partner's to-do list for Florida was riding an airboat through the Everglades. After considering a four-hour drive to Everglades National Park in Southern Florida, we found out there was a much closer  tour near Kissimmee in the Central Florida Everglades -- and it was only 40 minutes away!
It was my first time to be in a swamp so I was a bit excited myself. It's only vaguely similar to the Swamp People show on the History Channel - no gator wrestling here - but for a quick 30-minute ride it was a good enough introduction. Menacing as he may look, the pilot was actually a nice guy, making jokes and answering questions about the wetlands. 
We got to see an alligator fairly close as well as lots of waterfowl. Honestly, was a bit disappointed not to have seen bigger-sized alligators but maybe I should be thankful as the smaller ones would presumably be less aggressive. Wouldn't want any of these climbing up our little airboat. 
Once back on dry land, there were even more waterfowl milling around and apparently quite comfortable mingling with humans. These birds were big!
And of course, before leaving we had to stop by the gift shop. They certainly have plenty of non-traditional souvenirs. No Birkin bags available though.

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