Southern Beauty, Beaches & Gators!

We recently went on a 20-hour road trip from Ohio to Georgia to Florida for some work meetings and my company's trade show. Our first night, we made a stop in Pigeon Forge, TN and came across some cool sites: a Titanic replica, the Smoky Mountains, a giant upside down building and crazy Spanish Moss/vines growing everywhere. This little city was so cool! It was super touristy and reminded us of a cross between Vegas for kids and Jackson Hole. It had tons of awesome mini golf courses, arcades, restaurants with dinner shows, and giant As Seen on TV stores. I hope we get to go back someday and explore some more! The first leg of the trip went pretty well, despite 3 detours due to rain and ice up in the mountains.

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

After my meetings in Georgia, my boss took me to the National Infantry Museum (and Christopher was also able to go on his own time). It was a really neat experience to see the monuments and displays, especially since I was able to have a personal tour from a retired soldier! If you're ever at Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA you MUST see it! I really loved the metal gallery and the WII exhibit.

National Infantry Museum 

Since we were in the heart of the south, we made sure to indulge in some good ol' homestyle cooking. The first night we ate at Country's BBQ where I got the combo platter and drank my Coke from a mason jar. Christopher also decided to order the "veggie of the day: mac & cheese." haha yes... the waitress even said it with a straight face and was completely serious. Apparently down there... mac & cheese is considered a vegetable! The second night we enjoyed some fried catfish at Ezell's. It was the BEST! I fell in love with the southern charm down there - people are so genuinely nice. It's refreshing.

Columbus, Georgia

We also celebrated Valentine's Day in the hotel after a long day of traveling and work. We didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but Christopher did surprise me with the sweetest, most thoughtful gift: an assortment of Dr. Seuss books for my collection!! It's one of my life goals to own every single book he wrote. He has always been my favorite author and I was SO surprised. I love them WAY more than a million bazillion red roses, teddy bears or chocolate boxes (although he did also get me a beautiful bouquet of my favorite hot pink stargazer lilies!) It was just perfect. He also loved his gift: a giant case of Kinder Sticks (surprised!) & a coupon to name a star (not so surprised, saw the receipt)...but it should be fun, we're waiting for a clear night in the country. 

Valentine's Day in the Marriott

After my meetings in Georgia, we headed down to Ft Lauderdale to stay with our Couch Surfer friend Ted for the weekend before the trade show. The weather was BEAUTIFUL and we were able to spend a few days at the beach!! I was in heaven and Christopher didn't mind the 80-degree sunshine either.

Ocean Hammock Beach & Hillsboro Beach

On my last day before the show, we used our Groupon for an airboat ride through the Everglades! It was awesome. We saw 7 alligators, tons of birds and learned all about this amazing ecosystem. The gators kept their distance, so it wasn't scary and luckily I had my telephoto lens to capture a few cool pictures.

Everglades Airboat Tour

After the boat ride, we got to see a live alligator show. The company, Everglades Holiday Park actually has their own reality TV show called Gator Boys (which Christopher loves). We didn't make the connection until after the show started and Chris recognized one of the main guys. That night we watched an episode... and those guys really are CRAZY! The main guy snorkels in creepy swamp water, pulls the gator out by its tail and somehow manages to capture him without getting eaten. Seriously nuts.

Everglades Holiday Park

Christopher, being the brave man he is, decided that he needed to try this gator catching technique. So he pulled one by its tail, came on from behind, sat down and grabbed its snout. I was rather nervous just being inside the pen with 10+ gators. In fact, while I was busy snapping photos I almost got my leg bit off. My foot was inches from stepping on a gator's head and his eye was directly facing me so he totally saw me. He could have been intimidated and attacked me. Lucky for me... he didn't!

Christopher...the next GatorBoy!

Lastly, we explored a local nature center that our friend Ted told us about. They have a beautiful boardwalk that surrounds a swamp / forest filled with animals. We spotted several gators, turtles, fish, birds, raccoons and plants. It was a nice relaxing morning before we headed down to the trade show and my intense week of work began.

Green Cay Nature Center & Wetlands