Gator Bites

Gator Bites was what it said on the menu at Gusto's which is on U.S. 1 near Southwest 344th Street. To the south is Key West. To the west are the Everglades. To the east is the Outlet Mall.

I had not had Alligator in several years. It is usually a bit disappointing because the restaurants that serve alligator usually serve it breaded and fried. The reason they do this is because the alligator meat has a lot of fat and soft gristle, and about half of the "Gator Bites" are mostly gristle and fat. The couple of pieces that were mostly meat were delicious.

Most people will compare alligator to chicken, but alligator tastes much better than chicken. Unfortunately, it seems like you often have to chew through a lot of fat and gristle to get to the lean piece of tasty meat.

Everglades

This planet Earth probably has many places as wonderful as The Everglades. Hopefully those wonderful places will not be polluted to death or developed into shopping malls! The Everglades is one incredibly amazing place. There are about three different sections of the Everglades that are open to the public. There is also a nice marina for medium and small boats and yachts and a small hotel located in the middle of the Everglades. The Everglades is a paradise for bird watching and enjoying nature.

During summer, the swarms of mosquitoes are usually so bad that you will get them flying into your mouth when you are talking. If you are allergic to mosquito bites, then you will get dozens of welts all over your arms and legs and any other exposed skin. Allergic folks usually wear long pants, long sleeve shirts and a boonie hat along with a lot of Skeeter spray. The best season to visit the Everglades is towards Fall and Winter, when the Skeeters are usually not as active and the heat is less intensive.

If you like turtles, alligators, snakes, and iguanas, there are tons of them at the Everglades, and they are usually walking or swimming around nearby at any time. You can walk to the edge of the water and look at an alligator from about a distance of one foot or as close as you dare. Sometimes the alligators are sunning themselves on the grassy areas near a parking area. You can literally walk up and pet them if you dare. These alligators seem to know that the people are not food, as I have gotten very close to them and they have yet to bite my arm off. Of course, I would strongly advise against getting too close to an alligator; so if you go there and get your arm bitten off, do not blame me.

Gators are the freshwater version of Sharks. They are predators, but they are very intriguing creatures. Alligators happen to be the smartest reptiles, and turtles are the second smartest reptiles. How smart are Alligators? Well, their brains have the evolutionary design for a split-brain just like Mammals. However, for some reason they have yet to evolve to that point.

Near the Everglades, on Tamiami Trail there are many places that cater to the tourists and which have various kinds of petting zoos or reptile zoos. Those are fun to visit. The southern Everglades Park which is in Homestead does not have any large tourist attractions, but on the road there are occasionally little roadside stands which have alligators that you can pet and carry around. For $5. you can get your photo taken carrying a small alligator. Sometimes there is a guy with pony rides also. It is entertaining for young children and parents too.

If you have not visited the Everglades lately, it is an excellent way to spend a day. There are picnic areas too, so you can bring a cooler and food. An Annual Pass costs $25. for one vehicle and it is good in all Federal Parks. There is also the one-day entrance fee, which is only $5. for one carload of people.

Mud Turtles

Right now I have one small Mud Turtle, two Musk turtles, a red-eared slider, two yellow-bellies and a map turtle. I got the Mud turtle when she was just a few months old and about an inch long. Now she is about two inches long, and she is about two years old. The turtles are presently in a twenty gallon reptile aquarium (long tank) filled almost to the top with water. I have a Tetris 1 water filter. The turtles have a couple of areas where they can bask in the sun and/or lamplight. Even though lamp light is not the same as the sun, it seems to have a positive effect on the turtles' health.

The Red-Eared Slider, one of the Yellow-Bellies, and the Map turtles are about four inches long, and their shells are thick, hard, and wide. One of the Yellow Belly turtles, and the Mud and Musk Turtles seem to be growing at a slower pace. I feed the turtles a variety of foods like Reptomin, Tetramin, Goldfish Crumbles, moist Turtle Treats, and three other jars of hard Turtle food. The turtles are great eaters, and the little Mud Turtle and the two Musk Turtles always seem to be eating too, but they just seem to grow slower. Turtles get to know the people who are regularly feeding them, and they react when any of us walk by since we are the only ones who feed them. They get very excited and swim to the top, and look for food sticks. They like to be fed by hand.

This aquarium also has guppies, Neons, Tetras, Mollies and I just added some glass shrimp. Unfortunately, it seems like the turtles are snacking on the shrimp so there may not be too many of them left. Aquariums are a lot of fun to maintain once you get one set up and the water is settled and clear. An aquarium with turtles is even more interesting, as turtles have a lot more personality than fish! However, turtles demand more care than fish, and they are more difficult to keep healthy.