Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Day 16, February 5, 2013, Alligator Farm




There were many decisions to make of what to do today; the Fountain of Youth, San Sebastian Winery, Augustine Lighthouse, the Old Jail, Castillo de San Marcos, and the Ponce de Leon Hotel (which is now Flagler College.)

Many buildings in the city were constructed by Henry Flagler. (I mentioned before that he and J.D. Rockefeller started Standard Oil.) Flagler had churches and hotels built and he even established the railroad here.

The shuttle van arrived to pick me up about 10:30 a.m. This day I wore my sweater. I had an easier time getting in this van. At the Red Train Stop #2, the shuttle van’s base, I bought a ticket for the Alligator Farm. (One thing I haven’t mentioned is that this sightseeing tour company is owned by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and that museum is just down the street. I’m not interested in strange atrocities.) I caught the next Red Train and got off at Stop #4 where the shuttle to the Alligator Farm and lighthouse calls home.

The driver was out on a run, so I chatted with Melissa, the woman minding the shop. She was originally from Michigan. I haven’t had many real conversations with anyone on this trip, but she is one with whom we made a connection. We talked about the north vs. south and kids now-a-days.

The driver finally made it back with a group and we headed out across the Bridge of Lions to Anastasia Island. I commented on the feasibility of my spending the money to go see the lighthouse when I’d be unable to climb to the top. Would it be worth it just to see the grounds and look up? He agreed that it probably wouldn’t be. We have lighthouses along the east coast anyway and there’s so much to see here.

The Alligator Farm is a series of wide board walks meandering back and forth. I first noticed an unpleasant odor or maybe I should just call it unusual. It’s probably due to all these different species. I saw a toucan, but he was behind heavy screening which is not conducive to good photographs. Next were white crocodiles and alligators. I took a picture of the Albino American Alligator and a picture of a whole bunch of baby alligators. Then there were LOTS of alligators of all different sizes. I kept hearing this noise like a huge snore-rumble. It was the alligators! There were so many.

Bright blue caught my eye. Ah! Birds! Blue, red, and green macaws and parrots all posing to be photographed. We don’t have these in N.H. Then there was this kind of ugly, strange looking, long legged bird with a big bulbous growth hanging on his neck. It reminded me of a turkey’s waddle only this was bluish and like a half inflated balloon. A sign said Marabou Stork which can stand up to five feet tall and have an eight and a half foot wingspan.

One of my favorites was the West African Crowned Crane. There were a pair and they necked and preened each other. How sweet. I took three or four photos. They were so pretty

Also in this cage were white buzzards and other vultures. Evidently they had just been fed because they were all squabbling over stuff on the ground… I didn’t care to know what that was. The driver on the way over had told me that some of the birds build nests and if too many babies, one will “accidently” fall to the ground to be devoured by an alligator. He said it’s selective______ (I forget the word that follows.)

I continued along the boardwalk, which is raised high above the alligator enclosure. There were so many alligators that anyone falling in during their hungry period wouldn’t stand a chance. Good thing the fences were high and strong. Photos were taken of Galapagos turtles and more alligators. Overhead in the trees were zip lines and a ropes course. This is truly an adventure park.

I headed towards the rookery. In the distance I could see some white birds in a huge tree. In a tree off to the right, I saw in a nest something pink and yellow. I extended the lens in the camera. Is that alive? It moved. Oh, my gosh, are there young this time of year? I took a photo figuring I could crop it later to get a closer view. Higher up in that tree was an ibis. I photographed many ibis and green herons trying to catch some in flight. The green herons seemed to be mostly sleeping.

I got closer to that big tree that had the flock of white birds. Not all of them were white, some were pink. Those must be the rosy spoonbill (I must have walked by the sign so I don’t know if I have the name right.) I caught something flying. It was one of those spoonbills and it flew to that nest that I’d seen earlier. That must have been a baby there!

I wandered through a museum depicting stories of some of the largest alligators and crocodiles known. I looked at snakes, but most were curled up sleeping this time of day. I finally had enough alligators. I had a burger and fries at the snack shack. The root beer tasted like it was made with the swamp water. Then I went outside to wait for the shuttle.

On to my next adventure… it was only noon.

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