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Friday, April 27, 2007
Apr 27: Goodbye Everglades
So where was I? Oh yeah, right. The airboat ride. That scary, freaky airboat ride where I almost fell out into the water with hungry alligators. You remember all that from last week, don’t you? But luckily, I didn’t fall out. So I’m back to write another blog for you about my trip to the Everglades.
Dad and my best friend, Juliette, and I were getting out of the airboat after that totally amazing ride into seriously spooky gator country. And I could tell Juliette was kind of thinking, like, sort of the same thing as me. Neither of us wanted to leave the Everglades because it’s so beautiful and weird out there and everything. It’s like no place I’ve ever been in my whole life. But the airboat driver just points us to another part of this Sawgrass Recreation Park or whatever it’s called. There was part of this place we hadn’t seen yet. And it was great!
Because you know what? There was a real Florida panther right there. Ok, so you’re saying, “A Florida WHAT?” Maybe you didn’t know Florida has panthers, right? Well, Florida DOES have panthers and one of them was about five feet away from me. It’s a huge golden cat with very big teeth. But it has these really pretty eyes that just look at you and all I wanted to do was pet him like he was a pussycat. But I wouldn’t even try. Too dangerous because they’re really wild creatures. There aren’t many left in Florida. Dad says they’re protected by the government so no one can hurt them. These panthers are so beautiful! Why would anyone want to hurt a panther anyway?
So I didn’t pet the panther. But Juliette and I got to hold a HUGE snake, this python that’s longer than either of us girls! And you may not believe this next thing but it’s totally true too. I swear! I also held a real alligator in my arms! It’s small, not like that monster that wanted to eat me. But I mean, wow, a real live alligator. Dad snapped a picture of me, right there holding a gator on my first trip to the Everglades. That was just way amazing!
But now I’m going to end this blog, all right? But it’s ok because Dad said something about going to some other place with hundreds of butterflies and strange birds and stuff. I don’t know anything else about that place now, but I guess I will know something before the next blog maybe. Anyway for now this is Isabella saying, “See ya next week, my friend! I can’t wait to tell you where we go next!”
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Apr 26: Ah, The Everglades
 Ah, the Everglades.
Eagles soaring up high in the sky
And you wonder why
What animals live up there?
What is their past?
What all is out there?
How long will it last
Finding out is the answer
Finding the truth
Exploring a new world
It’s all up to you
You can save our world
One step at a time
I’m sure the animals will certainly not mind
You’re helping them out
Saving their home
So they can move freely
So they can roam
All the exiting things and journeys wait
It won’t last very long
Just set a date
Then feel good about what you do
The difference you’re making is not only for you
It’s for the world, you see
They will thank you a lot
You saved the Planet
That’s what you taught
No matter what shape and size you are
You can make a difference
It’s not that hard
This is our home
The Everglades.
-written by Audrey, age 11, Fort Lauderdale
Apr 26: My Fort Lauderdale Favorites
 My name is Jayson and I’m 9 years old. I have lived in Fort Lauderdale all my life. There are lots of reasons why Greater Fort Lauderdale is a great place to live and visit, but I’ll narrow it down to my three favorites of all time, the warm weather, the great beaches, and the awesome arcade Boomers. Since we have warm weather we can play sports, go to the beach, you name it almost any day. Florida isn’t called the Sunshine State for nothing. My second reason is the great beaches. Did you know that Greater Fort Lauderdale has 8 beaches? Some fun things to do at the beach are paddle ball, playing in the sand and splashing in the salty ocean water. My final reason is Boomers. There are so many fun things to do at Boomers that I can’t even count them all. You can play arcade games, race in the go karts, play mini golf, bumper boats, and my personal favorite -- laser tag. So click around Sunny.org and then convince your parents to take you here on vacation.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Apr 20: Almost Lunch for Gators
"Uh, I'm not too sure about this!" Juliette says. "This boat could sink or something! And that alligator's still around!" That's how the totally freaky part of this story began. Because we're way out in the Everglades now. Remember the sawgrass and beady eyes and everything in my last blog? But then we climb into this funny-looking airboat thingie. And Juliette's getting kinda weird about riding with Dad and me.
The airboat driver just laughed at her. "Can't sink!" he says. "Airboats are really safe. Trust me! Just sit still and keep your arms inside." Duh! Stick your arms out when the airboat's moving and you'll get way cut up by sawgrass and bleed all over everything. He also was right about sitting still in the airboat! But, ok, so what's an "airboat" anyway? They're these wide, flat boats that skim over the water. Fast! Really fast! They've got this huge, monster fan behind the driver to push the boat right through all that sawgrass. Airboats can turn so quick that it almost makes you dizzy!
So we sat in front, just Dad and Juliette and me. The boat driver's behind us. And then we race out into those wild Everglades, ya know? So fast it's scary. But it's really fun too! I'm smiling a lot and so's Dad. Juliette too. Until the boat driver sees two alligators in the water. "There! Gators!" he yells out. That's when I do something kinda crazy. I stand up to look for alligators, just when the driver turns the airboat around totally fast. And I start to fall. Like, OUT OF THE AIRBOAT! INTO THE WATER! WITH THE ALLIGATORS! I am SO going to be a kid-lunch!
But I'm writing this blog, right? So you know I wasn't alligator food. Because Dad saw me falling and leaped for my hand. And Juliette saw me and grabbed my t-shirt. And the driver turned the boat back so I fell down into my seat, not out of the boat. But, wow! It was totally close! You can probably guess that my dad and the driver weren't too happy with me. Well, what can I say? Uhm, like, sorry!
But we did find those two gators anyway. They were so amazing! Both alligators were sleeping on the mud, soaking up sun like they were at the Fort Lauderdale beach. One gator was maybe 10 feet long. They looked like small dinosaurs. And we saw fish and lots of birds too. Awesome! And then the airboat took us back to the dock and, well, the cool stuff wasn't over yet. Ever seen a real Florida panther? We did! Tell you all about it next week! See ya!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Apr 13: Everglades, like, forever
You won't believe this place. This Everglades thing, I mean. Which, by the way, is so way out in the middle of nowhere, even though it's only a half hour from my house in Fort Lauderdale. And you won't believe what happened to us. To Juliette, I mean, who's my new best friend. And to me. It all got pretty freaky for a while there.
It started when Dad drove Juliette and me to someplace called Sawgrass Recreation Park, and it's totally in the Everglades boonies! There was nothing around except blue water and leafy trees and this sawgrass stuff. "Sawgrass" is really sharp, tall grass that grows everywhere in the Everglades. It will SO cut you open if you brush against it. Whoa, I mean it's dangerous. Like a saw, get it? But kinda pretty when you see it all around, every place you look, ya know?
Anyway, we got there and just walked around for a while. The Everglades is awesome. It just goes on, like, forever! We gawked at all kinds of great birds, especially this really beautiful one. Dad said it's called a purple gallinule. This bird looks like a chicken, kind of. Except with amazing blue and purple feathers and a red beak. Dad also said some people call it a "swamp hen." Juliette liked that name and we both laughed.
We were having fun and it was pretty and peaceful and everything, I guess. Until Juliette and I walked on to the wooden dock, just inches above the water. That's when the first freaky thing happened. Because I saw these two beady eyes sticking out of the water, looking really mean. Then I saw that these two eyes were looking mean - right at me! We were all alone on the dock, two small girls who probably looked like bait or something, right? And these eyes were coming closer. And closer! Until they were right next to me and looking right into my eyes!
I was eyeball to eyeball with a real alligator! Wow, talk about weird! And spooky! This big gator stopped swimming and just stared into my eyes. Then it dipped under the water and disappeared. I hadn't been at the Everglades for more than 20 minutes before an alligator tried to eat me. Well, ok, he didn't exactly try. But I knew he was thinking about it!
But guess what? That wasn't the freakiest thing about our trip to the Everglades. The freakiest thing happened on our ride in a real airboat. I'll tell you all about that next week, ok? Come back for the whole story. You won't wanna miss this one!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Apr 5: Mystery of the Everglades
So, like, what IS an ever glade? I mean, Dad calls it “the” Everglades. Whatever. I just know it sounds kinda scary to me. Never been there before. But I guess I’m going today. Gulp.
Did you know they have alligators there? Alligators. Like, with big teeth that chomp down on birds and small dogs. Hey, I don’t know much about this place. Except that there is no other one like it anywhere. It’s the only “Everglades” on this planet. So I guess that makes it kinda awesome, right? Even if I am risking a close encounter with a huge gator or something. I’ll let you know how it goes, ok? This will be my first story online – my first blog. I’ll write about my trip to the Everglades. Look for a new chapter every Friday, right here on this website. I’m gonna tell you about all my great adventures around South Florida each week.
Oh, but I guess first maybe I should tell you who I am, right? If we’re going to be friends and everything. I mean, you ARE reading this blog and I hope you’ll want to read it every week. My name is Isabella. Nice to meet you! And this is my best friend, Juliette. She says hi too. I just moved to Fort Lauderdale with my parents a couple weeks ago. Juliette lives next door but she’s never been to the Everglades either. We’re both first-timers, so to speak … 
I have to admit that I kinda like Fort Lauderdale. So far! I’m not making any snap decisions about this or anything yet. But the weather is great most of the time, from what I see. Here it is -- early April. And I’m wearing shorts and a t-shirt to this Everglades place. At home, I’d still be wearing a ski parka and mittens and snow boots, shivering like mad any time I stepped outside. Here, it’s different. That’s what I like.
But this “Everglades” thing? Hmm. Still not too sure about this. All I know is it’s huge and wet, with lots of beautiful birds and animals. And alligators! Gulp again. We’re riding today in something they call an “airboat,” though honestly I have no idea what that’s all about either. Stay tuned, my friends, stay tuned, ok? If I don’t fall out of this “airboat” or get scared out of my wits by a big gator, I’ll tell you all about it next Friday. Wish me luck! And Juliette too! I’m afraid we may need all the luck we can get!
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