Gallivanting Geismom: Just Call Us Alligator Hunters

How lucky were we to wake to bright blue skies this morning? That called for an outdoor adventure.

We hopped in the car and drove a few miles to the Fort Clinch National Monument, located on the very tip of the island.

Construction of this fort began in 1847 to guard the mouth of St. Mary's river.

Notice that this fort is built entirely of brick.

It served as a military post during the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War II and

the exterior is shaped in the form of a pentagon

jutting out onto the water's edge.

Across the way, you can see the State of Georgia.

The Cannons were huge and different from any type that I've ever seen. (That's me in front of the cannon).

And I found the angle markings with the wheels to be quite a clever idea.

I'd never seen anything like that on such a grand scale, either.

We walked through the entire fort where we saw barracks

dining halls

Officer's quarters

the pharmacy, where the man in charge apparently guarded the whiskey

and I was quite surprised to see this original storage box, dated Sept. 1863.

That room was brimming with similar items.

It was such a beautiful day, and we took full advantage of it by climbing up on the exterior walls to take in the view.

When we were leaving the Fort, the woman in the visitor's center mentioned that there was a very nice walk around Willows Pond, and that, if we looked carefully, we might even see an alligator.

Now, how could we resist that opportunity?

We found the pond easily enough, and began tiptoeing down the walk, attempting to be as quiet as possible in the hope of finding an alligator.

I had spotted something that looked suspiciously like one and had motioned for Marty to come and take a peek. He told me that he was sure that I was mistaken.

Being the expert, he began to tell me what I needed to look for: two eyes and two noses, at which I asked, "Do you mean nostrils?"

Did he REALLY think that I couldn't figure that much out on my own?

I took a photo anyway, and when I uploaded it onto my computer

Surprise!

When I zoomed in….there was an eyeball staring at me. Looks like I was right on that one after all.

We continued on down the trail, spotted some turtles, who were frozen like statues,

and I was fairly certain, once again, that I saw an alligator. In the meantime, while I was quietly spying this creature, a man and woman came walking along the trail, said hello in a very loud voice, and then asked me if I had seen any wildlife.

I commented, quietly, that I had seen a couple of turtles, and a couple of birds. She was quiet surprised by my revelation, and she went on to say, in a bolsterous voice, "I haven't seen a THING ALL DAY!"

Hmm….. Do you wonder why?

Well, as she passed, Marty came back to see what I was looking at, and I pointed out what looked like a log, but suspiciously like the head of an alligator.

Then….it blinked!!

How exciting was that?

Marty grabbed the camera and started taking photos, dodging into bushes, and I was just hoping that he didn't end up face to face with the creature.

By now, we'd spotted a total of three, and I found it amusing that they were all in the vicinity of this sign.

Then, a heron that we had been watching, decided to pop into the pond, and wander from spot to spot in search of a meal.

I watched it get dangerously close to the alligator.

I commented to Marty that I was worried that the bird was going to be lunch. The next thing I knew, the bird was stepping on the alligator's head.

There was a snap, and a ruffle of feathers, and as we spotted the heron flying away, the gator had jumped and landed 180 degree from its original position , AND exposed a second alligator nearby in the process of all this commotion.

This was far better than what we ever would have anticipated! In the meantime, Marty had fun taking photos of me with a Heron in the background

and an alligator slowly on the move.

When it came down to final count, we had seen 5 alligators, and who knows how many were lurking unbeknownst to us?

We decided that we'd had enough alligator excitement for one day, so we headed out to the ocean pier to take in the lovely view.

Marty tried his hand at fishing in the ocean, along the pier

but with no luck. We then decided to head back to the hotel, stopping to take a peek at the Amelia Island lighthouse that has the unique feature of a Fresnel Lens.