This year winter in Reston has been absolutely ugh! I don’t like cold weather (years in Chicago) and I don’t like snow (years in Chicago) and even the lake in my backyard froze and ice is a huge no (years in Chicago, although Lake Michigan rarely froze:)…I do like to blame Chicago for a few of the items on my ‘don’t like’ list. But then I wonder why I set so many of my stories in Chicago? Mmmm….I’ll have to check into that, huh?

But let’s get to the reason I’m writing this blog post today. It is to share a few photos and also my first experience up close and personal with an alligator! And yes, it was so much fun, and thank you Mermaid Alethea for my meeting with a gator!

Okay, you say, why does Mermaid Alethea get the props (old school slang btw:)?

Two weekends ago, I visited Mermaid Princess Alethea at her home in Titusville, Florida – a very cool town with three of the best restaurants in Florida and a great beach, and Mermaid Alethea’s new home (absolutely adorable). But on our way to the beach one morning or afternoon, we’re driving along and I’m watching the side of the road for gators. And why not? I’m in Florida. And although I’ve visited Florida a few hundred times over the years, I’d never seen a gator in the wild. So my pal Alethea quickly (but safely) turns the car around and we jump out and there it is — my first up close experience with a gator. So I had to share the proof!

Now tell me, what animal have you seen in the wild that was on the bucket list or not on the list but still wowed you?

As readers and writers of popular fiction and romance, we enjoy going into make-believe worlds – but the wow experiences of the real world are awfully cool, too. And to some, spending 30 minutes staring at an alligator might be boring or absolutely amazing.  This was an animal wow moment for me. How about you? But come on–you know you think gators are cool, too!