Airboat Rides at Midway, Christmas, Florida

 

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air...”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

While staying in the historic town of Titusville, Florida, (near Cape Canaveral), we decided to do something we had never done before. We drove by Midway Airboat rides on the St. Johns River the day before and thought, what a fun thing to do. So we called up and booked a seat for a party of three for the next day.

We woke up to a gorgeous day and excitedly drove to the Midway Airboats just east of the town on Christmas, Florida. Christmas is a unique town to visit also and if you want to learn more about it, check out my blog on that: https://sepielli.blogspot.com/2021/09/fort-christmas-and-quaint-town-of.html. When we pulled into the driveway, Porkchop, their pet pig was just roaming around the front of the building and we all exclaimed, “Look at that pig”. By the time we parked, he was no where in site. He was large so we knew he couldn’t hide. We walked up to the boat ramp beside the office,  where we saw baby alligators and turtles.  

We walked into the office and met Shawn, a lovely lady who was working the front counter. She helped us get signed in and told us since we were there early, she would call us back closer to our departure time to pay. Since we got there early so we had plenty of time to walk around their very interesting store. They sell many unique items that were fun to see as well as drinks and snacks.

On one side of the shop is a bunch of cages with various types of snakes including, a Burmese Python, a Red Tail Boa, and many other Florida native snakes. We walked out on their covered deck which overlooks a beautiful waterway that leads to the St. Johns River. We could see all the docked airboats lined up and ready to go.

That is when we spotted Porkchop again. There he was sprawled out on the floor up against the back door, which we found out is his favorite resting spot. He was sleeping and making a grunting noises as in delight of whatever he was dreaming about. He is super friendly and loves to be petted. I asked Shawn about him and she said he is over 12 years old. Also on that back deck was also many varieties of parrots. The one that impressed us the most was Coco, a white Umbrella Cockatoo, who is also 14 years old. That bird loved people and we were able to hold it and pet it. We loved hearing it talk. Along with that parrot, there was an Amazon Parrot that was 35 years old, and two Sun Conure parrots, one that was 9 and the other 15 years old. It was fun interacting with all the birds and Porkchop before our trip.

 

The trip started off by going slow down a narrow tributary and then onto the main body of water. Captain John gave us a history of the area and pointed out the local birds and wildlife we saw. One we got to the main area, he got that airboat going at a good clip of speed and the boat seemed to just float over the water. What an exhilarating ride. The boat just took off and roared through the wide open space of water. Then he aimed it at the low grass, and we thought, he was making a mistake. No, the boat just glided over that as well. Now we were in a wide open area with lots of native birds, turtles, alligators, raccoon, and even cows.

Then we saw the strangest site of all. We were way out in this marshy area far from land when we spotted cows grazing on small islands of grasses surrounded by water. We saw some cows forging across the water with only their heads out of the water, traveling to another area to graze. We wondered how they could survive out there. Then he took us to an area where there was a cow that was laying in the water with alligators surrounding it, waiting for a meal. Some of those gators were extremely large and fast and I was glad I was on a boat.

Captain John slowed the boat way down and drove into a Cypress Forrest that was just gorgeous. It was so peaceful with the tall Cypress trees covered with Spanish moss, and birds standing on the banks of the swamp and in the trees. It was silent. Alligators glided past staring at us with great curiosity. He stopped the boat there and took pictures of us.

The trip was an hour ride and was worth every penny. We will now do this every time we come to Florida as it really was the highlight of our trip. When we got off the boat, Captain John told us to come see the alligators and anyone who wanted to hold one could. He led us over the cage where there were a bunch of gators, unlocked it, went inside and grabbed one. He then put a rubber band sleeve over his mouth so no one would get hurt and carried him out to us. At that time, anyone could hold it and get pictures taken. Our son, Josh held it as well as many other brave souls.

If you are looking for something unique and fun, this is a great thing to do in Central Florida. All the Captains are US Coast Guard Master Captains and their boats are all inspected and certified by the US Coast Guard. Midway Airboats is exactly that, midway between Orlando and the Cape Canaveral. Check them out: https://www.airboatridesatmidway.com.

Till next time. Bye for now.