While passing the big house at Magnolia Plantation I took a busy walking path as a short cut. So did someone else.

The paved path has some heavy visitor traffic but I guess the Alligator below thought it was early enough to be strolling around.

When we spotted each other the poor gator tensed up, raised up, and looked all around in a ‘Oh No ! Now what’ moment.

I kept moving, you can see the shot below was taken from a different angle. Two more steps and he surprised me by almost vaulting over the tall plants and into the small pond.

He was around four feet long, but to him I looked like a giant LOL.

Magnolia Plantation Garden, Charleston, South Carolina.