I have been dying to take Bennett to Okefenokee Swamp all year, but it seemed like we always had something going on. When we go see my parents, he loves riding on the golf cart to the pond and "gator hunting" so I knew he would like to see a lot of gators. Finally, we had a weekend free and it just so happened to be mother's day weekend. I called my mom to see if she and daddy wanted to go with us. Always up for a road trip, she said sure and away we went.
It has been at least 15 years since either Quinn or I had been to the swamp, but it is exactly as I remembered it. Hot, lots of alligators, and even more bugs. I do not enjoy any of those things. However, having an excited blonde hair boy to share it with made it so much more enjoyable. As soon as we walked through the store into the "swamp," an alligator was there to welcome us in. I've never really thought that I was scared of alligators but as this thing was making eye contact, it occured to me that if he darted toward us, one of us was a goner. So my perspective changed a bit-no alligators gonna eat my babies (or husband, or parents) So I decided it was a good time to tell Bennett all the rules- you know, never get too far away from us, don't lean over the railing, etc. The stuff that we hated hearing as kids.
Bennett was mesmerized by all the alligators. One thing I have learned about my boy is he DOES NOT get in a hurry. He was a week late entering this world, and hasn't gotten in a rush since. It took about 15 minutes or so to walk 100 feet, but hey, why should we be in a hurry-nothing else to look at but more alligators. And turtles. And an otter. The otter was pretty cool, but also kinda sad. He was all alone in the cage and it made me feel bad for him. Once we finally got done with the first board walk, we made our way to the nature show. I have an extreme dislike for snakes and of course a nature show in the swamp is not complete without snakes. Lucky for me, Bennett loves them. I am so glad that I have a tough, macho husband that can handle the snake stuff. Bennett touched everyone that came by while Levi and I watched from a distance. Bennett was done with the show before it was over so we moved on. One day we are going to realize that we just take the stroller to wheel our stuff around. Bennett walks just about everywhere and between mama and me, Levi was carried the whole time.
Our next stop was to see Ole Roy. He is a huge, stuffed alligator in a room all his own. I have pictures of me and John with Ole Roy when I was little, so it was really important to me to get some of my boys with him. As well as some of all of us. Quinn and Bennett did not see the importance, but humored me anyway. Then on to the train. I thought the train would be a nice time to rest. Nope- it was in the sun, with no shade and bugs. The driver/guide was great though. He sounded and looked like he had just come off an episode of "Swamp People" We got a kick out of listen him talk and say things like "tuurs" and "idee" After we got done with our train "tuur", we headed down another boardwalk to enjoy more nature (aka :bugs) My sweet little Bennett had to stop and pick up every leaf and stick and throw it back into the woods. Bless him- he gets that from his mama. Once we got to the end of the boarwalk, we sat at a gazebo and enjoyed the breeze while I fed Levi and Bennett and Mama looked for fish.
Finally, it was time to head home. We were all worn out. But we were all smiling. And we were all together. I love those kind of days.
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