the everglades

Looking for a true everglades experience , we wanted to take an airboat trip. All the American companies seemed way too commercialized so we had decided to try to do it in Louisiana. Then we drove through an Indian reservation and found one more our style. Our guide's nickname was beastmaster, and he really was. Within minutes of the ride he had "called" in a large gator who he reached down and kissed before lifting it 2/3 out of the water with his bare hands. He was full of information about the swamp and took us to the old Indian village. There he called in another gator and let both boys feed (by holding up a fist, tapping it on the nose, it opens up its mouth and then throw in the food!) and hold the wild alligator up by the chin! This was no joke, and thankfully they both still have 10 fingers. As a token of appreciation, the boys wanted to give Mr beastmaster a large black feather they had found a while back. He wouldn't even touch it and said it was vulture feather which is bad luck. Chris took all the feathers out of the car and tossed them out the window as we pulled out.
In keeping off the beaten path we drove through Florida farm land and were so lucky to stumble upon this fabulous open market called Robert Is Here. We got to sample some local honey and fruits and vegies we had never seen before. One of the fruits we got is a big green ball that is supposed to turn black and soft and then taste like chocolate pudding. We'll let you know....
Cruising along, we had to stop at a "hot" migrant worker street taco shack. It was a bit dirty but the food was awesome and again the boys were entertained by chickens, bunnies and a peacock.