Miami and the Everglades!

Laura and I took a nice weekend away and headed to Miami! We first stayed at this hotel right on beach in South Beach, but we were unhappy with our room and it just wasn't very nice. We then found this little hotel called The Carlton on the same street which we absolutely loved!! The beds were amazing with 400 thread count white linens, big pillows, and a very nice pool! The best part is this cute little art deco boutique hotel was the same price as the crappy hotel down the street! Too bad we didn't know sooner! Oh well, it was great, we spent lots of time on Miami beach, shopping on Lincoln street and pretty much just relaxing. We ate at this great little cafe "Nexxt" 4 times, which had the greatest food and you could people watch from the patio. We also went to Mansion club which was lots of fun!

One of my goals while living in Florida, was to see a live alligator in the wild. Florida is Gator land, so we headed to the Everglades for the day. Surprisingly the Everglades are only 40 minutes west of Miami! We took an air boat ride through the swamps and wet lands on a search for them. It was so cool! We were going so fast, and gliding through the water, and when an alligator was spotted we would stop to take pictures and watch. What a great experience!
After the air boat ride I had the chance to hold a baby alligator. He was very nice and I was assured he would not try to eat me. He felt very rubbery and scaly, but it was very cool I couldn't believe I was holding one!
We got to watch an alligator show where we learned about them and saw them be fed. Those teeth are pretty sharp and their chomp is very loud!!! To end off the day, this may sound crazy but we tried eating alligator nuggets. We just thought we had to try it, tasted like chicken really, kinda chewy! Believe it or not... In Florida, Gator is an appetizer listed on many restaurant's menus.