Can you say Okefenokee?

Sunset over the lake at Laura Walker State Park.

After the boats are off the lake...wow!

You can't come to Waycross, GA and not see this place.

Robby's new hat, a 2 year old alligator.

Sawyer's hat was tickling him!

On the boat ride at the Okefenokee Swamp Park.

And after the boat ride...a train ride!

We were no more than 15 feet from this local.

Joss loves the purple flowers!

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We drove up Saturday from Jacksonville to Laura Walker State Park, just outside of Waycross Georgia. It's the first time in Georgia for any of us. We got into Georgia so quickly from Jacksonville that we missed the "Welcome to Georgia" sign...if there was one. We took smaller highways so there probably wasn't the same signage as on the Interstates, oh well, we'll have to shoot one from the mirror as we leave Georgia.

Anyway, back to our story. We were meeting our friends from Jacksonville, Maria and Juzar along with friends of theirs for the weekend. They got here early and went across the highway to visit the Okefenokee Swamp Park so we all met up on Saturday night for pasta and S'mores. We had a great evening getting to know them all while we watched the sun set over the lake. Thanks for making all the Gypsies feel welcome! After they all left on Sunday, the RVGyspies headed to the Swamp Park.

As we were heading down the one lane road to the park, we got stopped by a train. Since we were the first car at the crossing, we had a front row seat for some "trainspotting". Eeee yaaa! It turned out to be a car transport train. Two engines hauling at least 70 car transport cars. The boys in the truck, that includes me, couldn't believe all those cars were being hauled by only TWO engines. They must have some pretty flat terrain around here! Well, if the day starts with a little trainspotting, it has to be good. And it was.

We bought the package which included the reptile show, boat ride and train ride! The reptile show was up close and intimate as you can see from the pictures. Being a Sunday afternoon and not a holiday, there were only three other families at the show. As our guide was holding the 2 year old alligator he pretended to trip off the stage and almost into the lap of a couple of teenage girls. He knew they were easy targets from their reactions to his snakes a few minutes earlier. These girls screamed their heads off and we all laughed, almost as hard as their parents! Robby amazed the guide during the show by answering the question "how do the birds protect their nests from the snakes?" Robby learned at the Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque that the birds will peck holes in the bark all the way around the trunk. The sap and tar then oozes out and will keep the snakes from climbing higher. Way to go little buddy!

We enjoyed the boat ride into the swamp and learned about the moonshine runners, the plant they call "poor man's soap" because you can rub a handful of leaves in your hands with water, and make lather, the fishing spider that will dive into the water and grab small fish and toads, the fire that hit the area big time in 2007 and of course, more about alligators.

We capped the day with a gator sighting right off the sidewalk just outside the visitor's center. Oh and some great T-shirts and ice cream!

We're off to Savannah tomorrow to see the historic town and visit my fraternity big brother and his family.