*600 TOURS & COUNTING...* That was the unique milestone Richard “Dickie” Harbold recently celebrated at Cypress Gardens. He been keeping track of his guided boat tours since he started at the park five years ago. “I’ve had many good moments out here,” he said. Dickie applauds his count every 100 tours; and so does his mom. “My mom, on me every night when I come home from work—‘Did you write your tours down? Did you write ‘em down?' And I’ve just been doing it ever since (my first day),” he said. Dickie began his beloved camaraderie with the outdoor retreat as a volunteer. Especially after unprecedented flooding shut down the park, Dickie worked with the dozens of park and County staff members to revamp the site and restore it to its former glory. “I really liked coming out here, spending my Saturdays out here for free—just come out here and work.” Of the hundreds of tours he’s given over the years, Dickie said he’ll never forget “one that really sticks in my head" and occurred two years ago. He and the 10 guests in his boat that day watched in disbelief at two sparring gators. “There was two alligators sitting looking at each other,” Dickie said. “They started swimming towards each other. They get to where they’re at each other, and they grab hold of each other by their mouths, they jump up in the air like a V-shape, splash down in the water, and sank to the bottom of the swamp—that was the last we seen of ‘em.” But boat tours aren’t Dickie's only park gig. He said he also conducts boat repairs and even suits up as the jolly, bearded holiday man kids “light up” to see. The popular Santa in the Swamp event is one of his favorites. Dickie also once found himself in the backdrop of a Hollywood shoot, as the locally-filmed reality show “Southern Charm” visited Cypress Gardens for the day. Dickie also makes sure his outdoor travel companions are engaged in the scenic experience, sharing park history and pointing out native turtles, flowers, birds, butterflies, plants—and of course, the occasional reptilian resident. “I try to get the people in the boat involved in what I’m talking about,” Dickie said. #BerkeleyCounty #OneBerkeley #cypressgardens