Okefenokee Christmas

So apparently the ho-hum feeling we had towards White Springs wasn't going to deter us from trying out Christmas lights other places, as evidenced by the fact our next night of light-looking was in the Swamp....

We really didn't expect much, but we thought, hey, why not?! right? Maybe that is why the evening turned out so good.

Jenny's parents and my mom accompanied all of us. It turned out to be rather chilly, which goes perfect with Christmas light looking.

 



We walked in and headed towards the back and saw Santa while we were there. I don't take Ava to see Santa because I'm just not going to torture myself, torture Ava, and pay a ridiculous amount of money to have a picture of my child trying to escape from Santa. So when we saw him, Brody and Trevor walked right up and sat with him and told him what they wanted for Christmas. This is what happened when I tried to get Ava to do the same.

Now, don't get me wrong, some of those screaming kid Santa pictures are funny, but when I have so much else to do that isn't something I consider 'enjoyable' so it gets cut. This was perfect- no line, Adam took the picture, and she still didn't even look at him! Ha!



After Santa, the kids went for a train ride. Brody hopped in the engineer's seat, then Ava the one behind him...we all joked because Trevor ran and hoped in with Brody instead of Ava...if this was a few years from now, we don't think he would have done the same! hehe!



They had so much fun looking at the snakes (behind the glass) and we visited some old Showbiz friends (anyone else remember Showbiz?) Apparently they have taken up residence in the Swamp. 

We walked around and looked at lights and then saw the train getting ready to depart.



I was actually very impressed with the train ride, it was quite long and had a lot of lights to see along the way. The kids all seemed to have fun, which really does make it so much more enjoyable!



Our engineer for the ride was Santa himself!



After the ride we headed to see the big alligator, I believe his name was Old Roy. He was huge! The kids (aka Jason, Brody, and Trevor) decided to stick their heads in his mouth.



I think Brody wins the prize for what I would call the most accurate impression of a terrified face! ha!



 



Ava decided she didn't want any part of it and would only pose for a picture in front of him.

We stopped at Zaxby's to grab a bite to eat before we all headed home. We had a really good time- I think its safe to say it was worth the drive and the entrance fee and we will do it again next year!