Gulls!

How great would it be if you could be a gull for a day? Soaring over the ocean through crystal air. Tucking your wings and diving with speed and grace toward the beach. Snagging bits of sandwich from the hands of unsuspecting children and tourists. Well, I already do that last one, but it'd be a lot easier if I was gull.

These are the final shots from Florida. After this we return to our regularly scheduled programming of wild ramblings and mountain adventure...

Into the swamp

Headed into the swamp for a few hours in search of alligators. Lots of jungle, six-foot-tall ferns, and murky brown water. Saw turtles, swamp lillies, and herons, but no alligators. Silas did catch a strange-looking fish in the murk under our boat, though...

Florida

Flew to Florida for the holidays (wife is from here) and immediately plunged into grandparent-fueled, amusement-park mania. Thankfully, there is Sea World. Sea World is pretty awesome. Octopuses, orcas, and a walrus that is a splitting image of Jabba the Hut. Plus, a stingray drew blood on my finger while I was feeding it, which doesn't happen everyday. (On a side note: why do stingrays always look like they're smiling? They're the happiest creatures in the sea.)
Looking forward to getting a canoe into a swamp soon to look for alligators. Hopefully they won't draw any blood...