I visited Gatorland as a kid never thinking that years later I'd move to a lake in Central Florida, where thousands of alligators call my back yard home.

I've become so familiar with these creatures and their various mating habits - where roaring males sound like throaty boat motors - that I thought I might be too jaded to enjoy a trip back to Gatorland.

Wrong.

Watching these behemoth gators cut through the water, gracefully emerging from under bridges, I was just as awed as the first time we made the trek as snowbird visitors. The size and power huddled below silenced the equally impressed crowd that had gathered for the popular jumping exhibition, "Gator Jumparoo."

The massive creatures lifted themselves out of the water, balancing bodies that weigh more than a quarter of a ton, in a vertical dance to pluck raw chicken snacks dangling from a wire.

I'll leave it to the experts at Gatorland to call them in close for chow. Or wrestle them. And while you can also see brilliant birds and flamingoes, there's nothing like a baby gator to make you smile.

Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud is similarly educational and intense. The Orlando theme parks may have their mechanical thrills, but when it comes to jump-back-from-the-glass excitement, you'd be hard-pressed to beat Reptile World's two daily venom programs.

Founded in 1972 as a research facility to produce and distribute snake venoms, you can check out some of the world's most dangerous snakes. There are thick rattlers, mambas and pythons to see curled in their indoor habitat.

But the part that will make you shiver days later is the venom show. One snake after another is coaxed from its box, grabbed by the neck and "milked'' into a glass funnel as the sharp fangs strike for science.

Pull your little one around in a wagon, settle into the hay on the ride that is part of the two-and-a-half-hour tour that shows off the farm's "zorse,'' a part zebra, part horse that actually has stripes.


"Cool," said one of the boys in my group. He then added, "that's freaky," which pretty much summed up everyone's reaction to a feisty cobra, who seemed to be just a nanosecond away from biting the brave exhibitor.

If you want a more relaxing - and accessible - look at nature, you might prefer the Green Meadows Petting Farm in Kissimmee.

Green Meadows is a rustic retreat perfect for younger children who find gleeful fulfillment in touching critters. There are more than 300 animals in this family-friendly setting such as ducks, chickens, pigs and goats.

Pull your little one around in a wagon, settle into the hay on the ride that is part of the two-and-a-half-hour tour that shows off the farm's "zorse,'' a part zebra, part horse that actually has stripes.

If you need a little more adventure, Horse World Riding Stables is a great way to spend a fall afternoon.

Drive into the stable parking lot and you'll want to quickly trade your metal ride for a beautiful horse.

Horse World offers a variety of rides and experiences designed to make city slickers as comfortable as old farm hands. If you take the basic nature trail ride, for example, you'll ride through the woods, where you are likely to get a glimpse of raccoons, deer or turtles in the scenery.

Children younger than four can ride double with a parent. Older children can get their own horse. Advanced riders can enjoy a more fast-paced trail, with trotting and cantering horses. The average ride is about an hour - just enough to get a feel for the saddle.

For those who don't want to leave nature, you can actually stay in the wilderness at Forever Florida on the outskirts of St. Cloud near Holopaw.

This is the world of cracker cows, where the largest privately held herd numbers just shy of 300 head. Suburban types will marvel at land that has escaped development and enabled longleaf pine, flatwoods, wiregrass and scrub to thrive.

Forever Florida is part attraction, mostly preserve. It lets you to soak up nature by foot or on horseback through one of the attraction's safaris. Overnight programs are offered and there's remote camping - only you don't have to set up the tents and someone does the cooking for you.

It's a great way to embrace what's left of cowboy culture and introduce children to the luxury of wild, natural Florida.