SUE DID WHAT!!

Folks who know my lady realize she tends to get seasick while watching sunlight sparkle through an aquarium.

As you can plainly see above she and good friend Dee Weeks (left) are boarding an airboat of all things.  The event was on Blue Cyprus Lake, a 6,500 acre body of fresh water near Vero Beach.  It is the origin of the St. John's River which flows north from the lake to Jacksonville, FL where it dumps into the Atlantic.

The event was launched when my daughter TJ bought us a Christmas gift certificate of two rides with the Florida Cracker Airboat Ride folks.

How could Sue balk at that generosity?

Actually, she did quite well; better than I expected.  The only casualty was my left leg where her grip dug into my leg muscles in direct proportion to the boat's velocity.  I expect a quick recovery.

Alligators, lots of alligators, were the featured attraction of the ride.
 
This handsome fellow chose to do a bit of formation swimming with us before great respect and a strong sense of self preservation caused us to do a discrete course change away from his basking territory.

Our very capable boat captain, Lawrence Kyzer, explained the alligators depend on environmental factors to regulate their body temperature; basking in the sun to maintain their favored 82 degrees of body temperature, allowing them also to digest their food.  When the water temperature reaches 82 degrees they usually stay submerged to enjoy that thermal benefit.

He estimated the gator in the small photo was 10 to 11 feet long.

I thought the one swimming with us was at least twice that size, but most males do not grow much over 13 feet.

Kyzer's 20 foot vessel was powered by a 400+ horsepower Lycoming aircraft engine capable of propelling it, lightly loaded, 60 to 70 mph.  His dad taught him to operate an airboat when he was 5 years old and he's been doing it ever since; owning his own business the past 7 years.

His vast experience was quite obvious as we glided some 6 to 8 miles across the lake and its system of canal-laced wetlands.

We were treated to close peeks at several Ospreys (above) and saw one nice group of very colorful, Purple Gallinules (next lower).

This marvelous event took place April 13th; just days before our scheduled return to Ohio.  There is some chance we will be square dancing in Ohio by the time you read this.