Myrtle Beach

On Saturday we decided to take the kids to the Alligator Adventure park in Myrtle Beach.  It was not a trip for the faint of heart or those weak of bladder.  Our car does not have a GPS and ours is at home nicely tucked away in a drawer.  Usually Google map instructions will get you where you need to go but once in a while they just don't cut it.  And Saturday in Myrtle Beach that was the case. 

You see there is Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach.  And they share the same main road and numbering system so we drove down the main beach drive of Myrtle beach on a Spring break weekend.  It took about one hour to go 7 miles.  That was a little much.  The view was sea food restaurant, beach shop, mini golf, sea food restaurant, beach shop, mini golf, if you ever need a towel that is the place to go.  We finally got turned around and after merging left found the alligators with in minutes.  My weak bladder almost did me in though.  The nice man at the gate of the park wanted to talk and I just wanted to get to the washroom.  I tried to smile as sweetly as possible not showing how close I was to wetting my pants and suggested he tell my husband about the days shows so I could go to the washroom.  I made it, barely.  Steve is used to me by now so he was calmly waiting to tell me about all the shows when I emerged from the facilities.

The park was FULL of alligators.  The first pool we saw we were thinking they can't be real.  their is so many of them.

Upon close observation though we could see some of them were breathing.  Then some started moving.  This is just the juvenile pool.

We moved around the park looking at the other animals and alligators.

this tortoise was so friendly

Utan

This is Utan he is the King of the Crocs at this park.  Utan is a hybrid breed between a salt water and Siamese crocodile. He was born in 1964, weighs in at 2000 lbs and is just over 18 ft in length.  He is huge. 

We watched him for several minutes with out him moving at all.  So we decided to come back later and see him again.  When we saw him for the second time he had just scared a man to death.  The man was sitting on the bench just outside the cage to get a picture with Utan behind him through the fence.  Well Utan move his huge head and the man jumped up he was pretty scared by it.  We got our kids to sit there and get a picture.  Utan was settled and didn't move while they were there.

Samuel and Utan

Next we walked through the natural environment ponds for the larger alligators.  They were hidden throughout the grass.

After this area there was a section for alligators and crocodiles of the World. They had several species.

American Crocodile

False Gharail - Samuels favorite

Albino Alligators

Albinos

We were able to learn some fun facts at one of the shows.  And we were able to pet a young alligator.
They don't eat for the winter months while they are in hibernation.  They eat all summer and store the fat in their tails.  When we visited they were still not out of their hibernation phase so they had not started eating yet.  The weather has to be quiet warm before they start producing digestive enzymes in their stomachs and eat again.  We all got the chance to feel the different skin on an alligator its sides, tummy and back all feel very different.  Alligators do not have cartilage in their ears so they can close and keep the water out when they submerge.  They can stay under water for about 2 hrs. They love to eat smelly, raw chicken.

alligator pile

the young alligator we got to pet

 Then we walked by the pond filled with the big guys, these alligators are really big.

They swim with just their tail their legs are for turning.  It gives them such a graceful appearance in the water.

the kids were wondering what he has to do with alligators but I know he was there just for me I love tigers.

After so much fun it was time to get something to eat.  In all the fun we missed lunch and we could not leave Myrtle Beach with out seeing the beach. 

We spend a lot of time comparing Ireland to South Carolina.  But there is no comparison in the beaches South Carolina has soft sand on their beaches not the broken shells and rocks that Ireland has.  It  has been amazing to see both of them.

view up the beach

kids in the water

Sabrina, Sarah and Samuel

Myrtle Beach Pier

sun setting behind the skywheel

waves