Alligators, Hangouts & Fun in the Sun

Our second day in Alabama was kickstarted with cinnamon roll waffles (yes!) and a trip to Alligator Alley. This one of the things Taylor was MOST excited about and, honestly, holding one was on the top of most of our priority lists.

Tiny thought they were very interesting but any time one made a slight move toward her, even though there was a fence in place, she scrambled on top of Dave's shoulders. I'm not sure why she thought climbing higher was the answer but it was interesting to watch.

{She was never in ANY danger. Let's be clear.}

We saw gators all the way from just born to many years old. It was interesting to note they don't grow very fast - only 8-10 inches per year. So the giants are REALLY old. And, yes, both the older girls and I held a gator. But neither was super stoked about how they looked in the pic so I promised not to post it. (Ahhh...teens...) So I'll just show you mine. :)

The back area is where all the big guys were located. In an actual swamp, actually. The smaller ones are kept in smaller enclosures where they're all of similar size. Probably so they don't chomp on each other, I'm guessing. You walked all through the swamp on a boardwalk of sorts. Thankfully it's really well built.

No one fell in, we were able to feed them, and Tiny kept pointing out the big ones. Surprisingly, she had no issue with the bigger ones. Who knew?

It was such a fun outing - highly, highly recommend. We finished up with the keepers feeding the big guys. Like, feeding them raw meat - not the large pelleted food we were entrusted with - and it was really cool.

Later in the day, Nana and Boppy arrived and we all went down to the beach for several hours.

It's a requirement, in my mind, that you have beach and pool time every day while on vacation.

So we did.

And it was beautiful.

After some fun in the sun, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner. We tried The Hangout, on the advice of a sweet friend, in Gulf Shores and it was a lot of fun. Not formal AT ALL. In fact, Dave and I both - in separate instances - ended up dancing on the table. As did all of the other parents trying to have a leisurely dinner. :)

Super fun day two, friends!