Yankee Swamp People

Day 182 ~ Year 3

Team Zybko

May 27, 2016

Alligator Farm Adventures

We went to see some gators on our first full day in Louisiana. It seemed like an appropriate outing for a beautiful, sunny Sunday in the bayou. You know what they say, when in Rome.....do something super touristy! 

It was hot, a tad smelly and a lot of fun.

The kids were brave so I followed suit.

Most of the gators were not in the mood to put on any death roll, feeding frenzy entertainment for the tourists walking and waiting about outside the old chain link fence. It felt like a bit of a let down but I was still OK with the slow goings of the afternoon. To be honest, everything the young guides did to provoke such a show all seemed like a bad idea. 

Standing within a few short feet of the murky waters edge while holding raw chicken in one hand and poking the snout of these animals with a metal rod. What do I know anyway, I am just a Yankee from the paved streets of a suburb in South Carolina.
  

A young boy on the tour gets bored and proceeds to unofficially lead the group to the next swampy area. 

He scurries back to tell his Uncle in a hurried announcement. 

One got out, one got out!

The Uncle, with eyes fixed straight ahead, half listening but intently watching to see the smelly meat get devoured, very nonchalantly replies;

I'm sure it's fake.

Uh, hey Uncle Buck, look up dude, it's not fake.

I thought for sure at that point my fate was to end up on a YouTube video titled;

Soccer mom of six gets eaten by escaped alligator.

Obviously that didn't happen.

Although, I did happen to wrestle an alligator on my first day in Louisiana. 

And by wrestle I mean, hold the tail of a pretty young gator in which I outweighed by roughly 80 pounds with its mouth taped shut as I sat on it's back and posed for a picture. 

Yep, a tourist kinda wrestle.

And that my friend is how you get your moneys worth at an alligator farm.