Periwinkle stood by the Teleportation Tunnel waiting for her fiance's arrival. She beamed when she said that word. She was so happy that she and Stinky were engaged and looked forward to a wonderful life together in the cute house he bought for them. She hoped he didn't mind that she wasn't wearing the gorgeous collar he gave her but she thought it wouldn't be smart on their Adventure. Suddenly she saw the Tunnel shake and heard the familiar WOOSH that propelled him out into her waiting paws.
Of course, Stinky noticed she wasn't wearing the collar and had a frightened look on his face. He quickly said, "You aren't breaking our engagement, are you?" She took his paw and gave him a whisker kiss and said "Absolutely not! I am thrilled to be engaged to you. I didn't think it would be smart to wear it on our Adventure today though." Relieved, Stinky took her paw and they re-entered the Tunel to head to their Adventure destination.
Stinky exclaimed, "OMC those are the biggest teeth I've ever seen." Periwinkle agreed and went on to say "The mouth is 15 feet wide, 21 feet long, and 14 feet high. We're spending the day at Gatorland. The 110-acre Central Florida theme park has alligators, other animals and many activities.
Periwinkle explained, "In 1949, Owen Godwin officially opened the Florida Wildlife Institute, which would later become known as Gatorland. Located on what was then a remote stretch of road between Orlando and Kissimmee, the park initially featured a small collection of alligators, snakes, and other animals.
Godwin's vision for Gatorland was to create a place where visitors could learn about and appreciate Florida's unique wildlife in a natural setting." Stinky was impurressed and couldn't wait to see an Alligator. It didn't take long before they found some.
Periwinkle also told Stinky that there were rare albino alligators living at Gatorland. Paw in paw, they headed over to see them.
"This is Pearl," said Periwinkle. "Pearl is 7 1/2 feet long and 105 pounds. The complete absence of pigmentation gives her pearly white skin and white eyes. Due to their bright coloring, albino and leucistic alligators don’t fare well against predators in their native swamps and tend to get eaten before adulthood. Their blue eyes are said to bring luck to anyone who makes eye contact with them. I must have looked into an Albino alligator's eyes to be lucky enough to have you for my fiance" she said. Stinky blushed but was pleased she felt that way since he felt the same about her.
They saw lots of baby alligators who were just hanging out in the sun...
They wandered over to the Florida Panther who looked sad until he realized the famous Periwinkle and Stinky were there to visit him.
Suddenly, Stinky let go of Periwinkle's paw and ran off. She crossed her paws that he wasn't doing anything dangerous. When she found him she said "Stinky, please get down, I don't want you to be lunch for the alligators." He sheepishly got down but then saw something that interested him and grabbed her by the paw.
"Look, a zipline! Come on Periwinkle, let's do it." Periwinkle rolled her eyes and said no way was she trying something like that.
In a flash, Stinky went up to the top but, knowing he should listen to Periwinkle, he came right down again.
Neither of the tabbies would go near this...
As they wandered, they saw the Gatorland Express and decided to take a train ride through the area.
While they rode the train, Periwinkle told him more about Gatorland. "Sometimes alligators can become a problem and are hunted by trappers. Gatorland rescues the problem gators and relocates them. In 1973 the American Alligator was listed as endangered. Gatorland helped a study on alligator reproduction and made it a success story. They are a leader in education and safety and have lots of educational programs."
The train ride ended and the two spotted the gift shop. Always thinking of their Moms, they decided to bring something home for them.
Stinky rushed right to the display of Albino Gator stuffies, he thought that would be a pawsome gift.
Periwinkle agreed and they each purchased one for their Moms.
As they headed back to the Teleportation Tunnel, they said hi to a friendly Capybara...
Saw a smiling gator...
And another hanging out at the Diner.
They both realized that they were getting hungry so they entered the Teleportation Tunnel and went back to Periwinkle's house. Her Mom made them a snack to enjoy on the back deck.
They spent some time whisker kissing and paw patting and fell asleep in a sun puddle. When they woke up, Stinky headed to the Teleportation Tunnel to return home. He blew her a kiss, told her he loved her and was so happy they were engaged. With a WOOSH, he headed home. Periwinkle found her fursibs and told them about the great day she and Stinky had.
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