Our Trip To The Florida Everglades

Hi Everyone!

We've been here in Florida for a few days and we've had a lot of fun. Our first big adventure was a trip to the Florida Everglades on Thursday!

Our day started at 10:30 when we got on the bus in practice gear and set off for the Everglades! We took a tour on a boat from a place called Coopertown Air Boats, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the Florida marshlands. The boat tour was about 40 minutes and took us through about eight miles of the everglades.

We ran into a bit of rain at the beginning leg of the trip, but that wasn't enough to keep us from having an awesome time! We saw quite a few gators on our journey: the first gator we spotted was a very curious one - he swam right for the boat.  lucky for the rest of us, he only had eyes for Mitz (he never took his eyes off her!), but coach Chris was ready with her sandal in case he tried anything sneaky!

The next gator we saw was a very old, blind gator - but don't let that fool you, because his nickname is "the king" and he runs things in the area and is considered the dominant male. We also saw a few of his 'girlfriend' alligators and their little gator babies hanging around.

 The highlight of the trip was definitely getting to hold a little three-year-old alligator. Most of the team gave it a try, and it was an interesting (and squishy) experience. Tia's reaction to holding the little gator was by far the funniest - she looked like she was about to cry! We ended the trip by getting a literal taste of the Everglades - fried frog legs and gator - and it was delicious. Tastes just like chicken! The trip was a great start to the day and sent us off to practice on a really positive note :)

Jordyn Turner '16