Airboating down the Withlacoochee River!

Here is the very nice welcome we received upon arrival at Ryan's mom's house in the Villages.

Ryan's mom lives in a fun little community where pretty much everyone drives around in golf carts.  It's a retirement community more or less, although some people still work, like Ryan's mom (she works part time).  The first night there we went to one of their town square areas and looked around.  There were so many people out, having a good time, and enjoying themselves.  Looks like a fun way to retire!

The next we headed to Wild Bill's Airboat Tours.  First off, it really just sounded like fun.  But we especially wanted to go because it was on the Withlacoochee River and one of our favorite shows, Ax Men, is filmed on the Withlacoochie (for some of the loggers).  While it isn't filmed right around here, it was still cool to spend some time on the same river.

The main "attraction" here is the gators.  This one was huge, and thankfully in an enclosed area.

Before we headed out I made sure to grab a snack.  Ryan's mom is a fan of Kind bars, just like us, so we had plenty to choose from.  I thought this sounded really good and it was a flavor I had never tried before.

Then we made our way down to the boat.  

I was so glad we had nice weather. 

Here are some pictures I took as we took our ride down the river.

Can you spot the gator?

How about now?

Or now?  Yeah, we spotted quite a few.

More from the along the river.  Very pretty scenery.

In this area our guide showed us a hot spring that comes up in the river here.

Here I am with Ryan.  Having fun!

Here I am "driving" the boat.

All done, just posing with the boat.

Oh no, not in the mouth!

For dinner that night, Ryan's mom grilled us some veggies and salmon.  Yum!

And for dessert, she served us this homemade frozen pie with all kinds of fruit inside.  Yum!

QUESTIONS:  When was the last time you stayed with your mother-in-law?  Have you ever been on an airboat?