ALONG THE PATH GOING BY THE 3 LAKES AT CELEBRATION
[You can elarge the pictures by clicking on them.]



 Across the lake near a retaining wall.  Homes are above the wall.

 Do those birds think this alligator is too small to eat them?

 Laying in the sun.

Great white egret along the walk.



2011 Tues. Jan 18
Lunch here, then we went to the library for awhile. Mid-afternoon snack at Starbucks at celebration. Very warm and sunny, so we sat by the lake and watched people go by. Finally went for a long walk down to lake 3. The sun brought out the alligators - saw one on lake 1, two on lake 2, and two on lake 3. We talked to a man who was fishing on lake 2, because I wanted to ask where he got his bait worms. As other fishermen have said, he hasn’t caught anything yet this year. He is from Ireland, north of Belfast, and comes to this area for Nov. & Dec., goes home for Christmas, then comes back for Jan. & Feb. We had a good visit, and he told me Walmart sells worms, so I have to check that out. I’m going today to get my license. Home for supper.

FL WEATHER: High 74, low 58, nice breeze. Cloudy when I got up, some sun by noon, mostly sunny by afternoon.

FL NEWS: Animal Kingdom’s Wild Africa Trek will get guests even closer to nature:Disney World's latest backstage tour is off the beaten path. The Wild Africa Trek, which debuts Sunday, takes small groups of theme-park guests through the forests behind the scenes at Disney's Animal Kingdom. During a preview Friday, we found ourselves in locations I never dreamed we'd be allowed at Animal Kingdom and experienced several well-thought touches during the three-hour tour.
Most vivid in my mind will be looking over the edge of a bluff – practically dangling – about 15 or 20 feet above a hippo … so close we could see the hair on his back. Yeah, we were very securely tethered … but that didn't keep a guest from yelling "JUMP!" from across the pond. There will be a similar experience above crocodiles that wasn't quite ready Friday.
Safety equipment consisted of a special vest that doubles as a harness. There are lockers there for anything you might drop – you ARE allowed to take your camera, as long as it has a neck strap or a wrist strap that can be tethered to the vest. As a group – maximum of 12 – we looked like a safari Special Ops team traipsing through Harambe, but for $129, you ought to feel special, right? (Entrance fee to Animal Kingdom is also required.)
That safety equipment is truly a lifeline during the rope bridge crossing, which puts you over the pathway of the safari vehicles, the Safi River and crocodiles. Again, you are tethered, and there's safety netting. I felt OK about it in that Disney-won't-kill-me-will-they way, but it's very high up. Acrophobiacs, beware!
The cherry on top: The Boma Landing, the rest spot built in the middle of the savanna, with a wide view of the wildlife: flamingos and elephants one way, giraffes and gazelles another. An expansion opening soon is already under construction, and it will offer glimpses of where the lions hang.