Last week my hatred of air travel was solidified after I threw up all over myself on the last leg of my flight to Florida.  I was already not thrilled about this trip, and sitting in my own vomit for a couple of hours did not improve my mood.

I was not visiting Florida for pleasure, but I was determined to cram at least some fun into my experience, and nothing says fun like GATORS!   After I wrapped up the business end of my trip I went to the Saint Augustine Alligator Park, which has albino alligators, a Komodo dragon, and lots of other awesome reptiles.

Number 17 on my 35 Before 35 list is Pet a Live Alligator, and I got to do way more than that!

This little guy is about three years old and was very sweet.  What is that line about “You have to kiss a lot of gators…”?

Hanging out with the baby gator was cool, but I wanted to pet an adult.  This big guy is named Chip and he is about 12 feet long.  I was in the pit with about 39 alligators and I told the guy with the camera to just keep snapping pictures no matter what happens.  If I am going to get my arm ripped off, I at least want some good pictures!

Chip’s skin was tougher than I thought it would be.  I knew alligators had tough hides, but his back was almost like a suit of armor.

I wonder how difficult it would be to smuggle a baby gator back to Italy?