"Tastes like Chicken"?

Four years ago, my family ventured to Louisiana to explore its hidden grandeur. Much to my brother’s dismay, we opted to schedule our vacation for April – two months after confetti speckled the sky and fluorescent masks roamed the streets – in hopes of bypassing tourist traffic. One of the first stops on our journey was the Bayou Pierre Alligator Park.

Blindsided by how simple the directions appeared on MapQuest, we were under the impression that to get to the Park we would just exit the highway and take a few turns. How wrong we were.

After leaving the reassuring blacktop of the express lane, we found ourselves in what only could be described as “backcountry.” With wide eyes, we observed houses peel away on either side of the street until there was only a scattering left. We became even more disconcerted when our car lurched and we discovered that we had left the paved street and entered, not a cobblestone lane or stone path, but a dirt road.

We were ready to turn back when we glimpsed a sign indicating the distance to our desired destination. Relief rolled over us as we entered the asphalt parking lot and noted the existence of other out-of-staters. Little did we know that we had entered the Crocodile Hunter’s greatest fantasy.

We found ourselves surrounded by ponds of turbid water that rippled when a swishing tail threaded its way closer to the wire mesh separating itself from visitors. A head would then appear above the water and glossy, narrow eyes would dare us to approach. As if these grimaces were not enough to cause us to retreat several steps, the agility with which the creatures attacked food thrown into their enclosures did.

Despite our initial anxiety, we meandered around the pens and found that the alligators weren’t as aggressive as they appeared. We even discovered one reptile sunbathing on a rock with a broad grin across its face.

We concluded our trip with a stop at the in-house café. The kitchen was serving everything from salad to salamander, or rather its cousin, alligator. My father was feeling daring and decided to try alligator-on-a-stick. The order arrived deep fried and brown. Despite his fervent appraisal, I found it hard to believe that it “tastes like chicken!”