Are you ready for the whirlwind travelog? Ready or not, here it comes! (Don't worry. I'm not offended if you don't read it. If you look at the pics and you'll get the general idea.)
We left Friday (after the last day of school) only two hours later than planned. (Thanks, Steve, for being understanding. It's tough to get a family with little kids packed for a six-hour drive and an 8-day trip!) I discovered that leaving in the afternoon is not nearly as easy as leaving in the morning. This is the first trip that we have had to endure, "Are we there yet?" almost constantly. I felt like Papa Smurf in one of the Smurfs episodes I remember from my childhood. (Anyone besides me know what I'm talking about?) Whoever invented audio books (for the grown ups) and car DVD players with head phones (for the kids)--bless you!
We stayed in a suite with a kitchen/family room and separate bedroom. It worked out great since the girls and I spent most of our time in the hotel (and pool) while Steve went to class.
Vacation Tip #1: If work is springing for the hotel room, go for a suite! We got our own room while the kids enjoyed the hide-a-bed (and Lacie enjoyed her port-a-crib). There's no whining about bedtime when they can watch a movie in bed! Ahhh, heaven.
Day 1: Wild Animal Park
We spent Saturday at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The highlight was a train ride that took us through a preserve full of animals. It was cool to see the animals up close and in a "natural" habitat.Here are some of Steve's great pictures of the wildlife. Isn't the picture of the lion awesome? Notice the mist in the background; and wasn't that nice of the lion to pose in such a cool spot?
The eggs are ostrich. I learned that the birds don't make much of a nest at all. They don't have to worry about predators because the shells are super strong. (They have to be strong to stand up to Mamma Ostrich sitting on them!)
Here we are enjoying the train ride.
And here's Lacie enjoying the "Daddy" ride. She was holding onto his cheeks, but I missed it. This might just be my favorite pic from the trip.Lacie was absolutely fearless this trip. There was a petting zoo full of very tame deer. Lacie walked in, headed straight for the nearest animal and practically gave it a hug. Megan timidly touched a couple of animals, but Lacie ran from animal to animal, touching them all and not even getting scared off when they turned their heads and nuzzled her.
If you look carefully in the background of the second picture, you'll see Melissa (headless) with her arms folded in a classic "I'm not happy" pose. She did not want to go into the petting zoo. She wouldn't go near any of the animals. She stubbornly stood in the corner the whole time.
I don't mind that she didn't want to touch them. Frankly, I'm not interested in petting the animals either. What cracked me up, though, was that she refused to come anywhere near them. Last I checked, deer aren't too vicious!
Our next stop was Dino Mountain, a wooded area filled with giant, robotic dinosaurs. (I think they had this exhibit at Brevard Zoo while we lived in Florida.)
The kids each got a passport which they stamped after viewing each dinosaur. The first several were nice, veggie-saurs--not at all scary. The kids were having a blast. Once we saw the dino that actually spit, the fun was over! Megan melted into a pile of screaming jello. I can't remember what she kept yelling, but she definitely wanted the tour to be over! The rest of the dinos were meat eaters and Melissa and Megan were very grateful for the stroller, which they stuck to like glue for the rest of the tour! The kids did get to operate the controls to make a stripped down dino move. That was pretty cool.
The final attraction was the girls' favorite: The carousel. I put in a far away shot so that you can see the cool animals.
I love Lacie's expression in the last shot. Kudos to Steve for taking these pics without getting dizzy!From all the girls: "Thanks, Daddy, for pushing us around in the stroller all day--up some very steep hills!"
We promised the girls we would go swimming after the animal park, but after stopping for groceries and a few other necessities, it was getting a little cold. The kids could not be dissuaded, and we ended up taking a very cold swim that evening. How is it that kids seem to be immune to the cold while the adults freeze and rattle our brains with our chattering teeth?
Freezing aside, it was a great day!
(Actual Date of trip: May 22-30, 2009)
2 comments:
That looks like so much fun. I want to do a trip to just San Diego the next time so we can do the wild animal park and Sea World. It looks like you had a blast though. I'm jealous.
that was only one day! I want more. keep going! the wild animal park is fun. We went with Jenny's and Jeff's families and mom and dad and it was SOOOOO HOT! I remember those steep hills. It's a fun place though.
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