Key West – Day 3

This is the last part of our quick 3-day bus trip from our RV resort to Key West and then back home again. Two bus loads of happy seniors made this 870 mile round trip excursion. It was some long, tiring days on the buses, but a good time was had by most of the group. In this segment, we stopped in the Everglades for airboat rides and an alligator show…

Back On The Bus

We were all back on the bus by 8am after having the complimentary hotel breakfast. Getting a 100 plus folks through the line can again require some patience. I had some cereal, fruit and the almost scrambled eggs. And of course, some coffee.

The group boarded all back to the same bus and seats for the duration. The RV park volunteer on our bus also did a decent job of providing activities to make the time go by a little quicker. Many thanks to Torchy Craig for organizing the trip.

Gator Park

Arrival at the Gator Park was about three hours into the trip. Very large airboat rides and a quite thorough presentation about gators and crocs. Yes, they have crocodiles in Florida. They are making a comeback having as many as 2,000 now in the states. Crocs like the salt water while alligators prefer fresh water. And crocs are much more aggressive/dangerous than the average gator. Though, during the mating season (March/April), gators become more aggressive. Either one, I’ll keep my distance thank you.

The airboat ride was fun. A large V-8 motor on the back propelling a huge fan blade. Since it was very loud, we wore ear plugs. The driver would creep along and then kill the engine to explain something, then restart and move a ways, then shut down again for another chat. On a few occasions, it was full throttle through the channels and then a power slide around the turns!

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Our driver said that he used to get in the water to demonstrate, but stopped doing that due to having to wear wet clothes all day and having gators in the water. Well, that got one lady to request that he jump in and walk with the gators, so lo and behold he jumped right in. Actually, it did not take much prodding. Maybe a better tipping opportunity from the crowd.

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Gator Presentation

This was quite interesting. Their gator expert gave the 20 talk all about the prehistoric creatures while he was standing in their pen. Four gators were in there with him. He would simply nudge one with his foot and point to the other side. The beast would immediately crawl over to where he pointed. He explained that he raised these guys from babies and they would not hurt him unless he did something stupid. In my book, being inside their fence may have qualified. But he escaped without a scratch.

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He also had a couple of crocs and did not trust them at all and would not turn his back on them. Mean critters.

World’s Smallest Post Office

The bus stopped by this quick photo ops to let those who wished to take a picture. One lady on board said this was her highlight as she travels the country to document the largest and smallest of anything. Something for everyone I’m telling you. More on that here LINK

Wrap Up

The trip back included a dinner stop at a Chilis near Ft Meyers. Good meal and then on to some massive traffic jams on I-75 north on a Friday afternoon. We arrived back at the park sometime after 8pm. Another long day.

It was an enjoyable trip, but we probably will not take another long duration bus trip in the future. A shorter trip would be much more manageable. It was great not having to worry about driving, finding parking, etc.

Next up will be a look at some additional park activities. There are many! Take care and God Bless.