Day 1 - Orlando - Gatorland

When I hear Orlando, the first thing that comes to mind is Disney.  When I was 8 my Dad took me to Florida and we did spend a day at Disney.  However, it isn’t Disney that I remember but Gatorland.  That is how we began our trip.

We spent the morning just hanging out at the house.  Mike and I talked over coffee while the kids practiced for the big tournament.  At 1000 we headed into the gameroom where I won the air hockey portion and Mike took the basketball shooting thing.  Luckily the kids have all week to prepare for a rematch.

After showers, Sam and I took off for Best Buy to buy a new camera to replace the one I washed, then we grabbed the boys and headed to Gatorland.  It was a fabulous afternoon.  The park was well taken care of and we all enjoyed looking at the alligators. 



One perk of mom being away... a closer bond between Samantha and Mike.



Samantha’s favorite was the white one.  Mike asked Sam “wouldn’t that make a great pair of boots?”  Her reply… “Dad, why would you want to wear crocodile skin on your feet?”

Jason’s favorite alligator was the one that got irritated with another and snapped.  The splashing got our attention and watching the one alligator remind the other who was dominant was amusing.

I knew I definitely wanted the kids to hold the baby alligator and take a photo like I did when I was 8 in 1984.  Sam wasn’t so sure.  When the lady told her to hold out her hand, Sam did.  The lady said “No sweetie, you’re real hand”.  What Sam had held out was her hand, but her sweatshirt sleeve covered it down to her finger tips.



Me when I was 8 years old at Gatorland.


We also chose to feed the parakeets which was a blast.  Luckily Jason had the benefit of his sweatshirt hood.  Sam walked around with her arm over her head.  When we first walked in the birds knew exactly what was to come and we were swarmed by birds.  Mike wasn’t planning to come in with us but when he saw Sam completely covered, and not happy about it, he rushed in to help her out.  After a while she got used to it.  It was a unique experience.

On the way back to the house, the kids fell asleep in the car.  We wore them out after just half a day at Gatorland.  They are going to need to build up their stamina for the days ahead.

There is a super Wal-Mart just outside our neighborhood so we stooped there to pick up dinner.  Mike ran in and grabbed a rotisserie chicken and vegetables which was a perfect dinner.  I didn’t make it too much longer after that before I again felt the effect of the 9.5 hour time difference and we all headed to bed early.