Visiting Florida in the summer of 2020 was a strange experience. Due to Covid, many attractions were either closed or significantly altered. It was simply not possible to be spontaneous, as places like Disney World, required advanced reservations and had capacity limitations. When we couldn’t manage to book a day at the theme parks, we shifted gear and went on an airboat excursion.
An airboat ride has long been on my Florida bucket list and I was thrilled to have the chance to experience it. We booked with a company called Midway Airboats, located in central Florida. It wasn't exactly the Everglades, but it was close enough.
The tour cost us just under eighty dollars (total, not each) and lasted over an hour. While waiting for our excursion to begin, we went out on the large screened porch to meet Coco the parrot and Park Chop the pig. Coco kept lifting her foot, desperate to climb on Dan. We realized that she often gets treats when people hold her, and since we didn’t have treats, she wanted back in her cage. We were dead to her. Pork Chop was so sleepy, he didn’t even open his eyes when we petted his tummy.
The airboats have four rows, and although the tour was completely outside, it was not exactly socially distanced. We were seated on the top row, next to our boat captain, there was a family of four adults and a toddler in front of us, and an older couple in the very front row. This said, being outdoors with the wind whipping around us as we flew through the water at high speeds, made me feel generally safe.
We all had headsets, so that we could hear our captain’s narration. She kept an eye out for gators and points of interest. One Covid change was we did not have microphones on our headsets to communicate with her and the tour guides did sanitize the headsets between tours- we saw them cleaning!
Selfie of Dan and I.
The tour was more amazing than I could have imagined. The speed was thrilling and the views were magnificent. We visited on a perfect blue-sky day with fluffy clouds. It was serene.
I couldn’t have anticipated that we would see more cows than gators. We learned that summer is not the best time to see gators. Since they have to regulate their own body temperature, they often stay under water and in the shade to keep cool in the heat of the day. It also doesn’t help that they are nocturnal hunters.
Cows were everywhere. Naturally, this caused us to wonder about the cow/gator situation. Apparently, they mostly live in harmony, with gators hanging out near the cows feet. The cows really being too big to be seen as prey for the gators.
Can you see the gator? This is one of three gator sightings of the trip.
My favorite part is when we slowed down and coasted through a heavy thicket of trees. It was exactly what I imagined the Everglades or a bayou in Louisiana ( where I’ve never been) would look like.
On the way back to the docks, we went under a very low bridge, saw some palm trees in the swamp, and enjoyed plenty more cows!
After our ride, we had the opportunity to hold a baby gator. The gator’s snout was strapped for safety reasons, but we saw our boat captain handle her without the strap and she was very gentle. She allowed the boat captain to hold her, much like we hold our cats. The skin on her belly was unbelievably soft, but she was heavy. I could only hold her for a few minutes.
Of course, as we were leaving, we noticed these warning signs.
An airboat ride is the quintessential Florida tourist activity and it didn’t disappoint. We look forward to taking the kids on our next trip to the sunshine state.