We got to San Diego Sunday night where we stayed with Devin's cousin and his wife who live about a half hour north and a bit in-land, which is pretty close to the Safari Park, so that was our first stop on Monday. It was a hard decision between the downtown Zoo and this Safari Park, but since we would be pushing a stroller around and the downtown zoo is really hilly, and we don't have anything like this in Boise we chose the Safari Park. The animals are a little more spread out but their enclosures are a lot bigger like a natural habitat and there is a free tram ride that takes you around the plains where some of the bigger animals are free roaming.
We've done a lot of goat feeding at other zoos but this was so fun to actually be in the enclosure with the goats, and even brushing them! There was only one temperamental goat that didn't want to be touched/
Our first stop after the goats was the tram ride because we heard the lines get longer throughout the day. Even though it was across the other side of the park, I'm glad we did that early because we passed by there a couple more times throughout the day and they lines were outrageous. We hardly waited. Ava actually got pretty bored of the tram ride after about 5 minutes and worked on a sticker book the rest of the time while Owen refused to sit down, giving me a heart attack a couple times ;)
Rhino, Caribou, Giraffes, Oh My!
I think we were all in awe of the giraffes. In a normal zoo they are amazing because you are right up close and can really see how big they are, but to see them out and about among other animals, eating from far off trees....they STILL look giant even though they are so far away.
We made a stop at a little play area and the kids found a hill right next to it that provided a lot of entertainment...and some much needed rest time for mom and dad :) I love that they let you bring food in, that's where we ate our lunch.
Elephants
The elephants rivaled the giraffes for favorite exhibit. Their habitat was HUGE. We got to see these cute small ones above link their trunks together, then the big elephant below came and pushed them away from each other...some elephants were tossing a big block back and forth, and they had this giant water area to come drink out of. They just fascinate me the way they interact and own their territory.
I've never seen Ava with more pure joy than when she is riding a carousel. We seriously went on one almost every single day of our trip at various places and I loved taking pictures of her because she was SO happy, every single time :)
Hakuna, matata!
This sweet gorilla momma was nursing her baby up in this cove. When she was done, the baby clung onto her back and she went prancing across the enclosure. They were Devin's favorites...just look at this guy.
It was really such a long day, luckily the kids ended up napping for a bit in the stroller, even though we left the park after lunch to try and drive them around for a nap but they wouldn't have it. The kids almost slept through the thing we waited for all day, which was the Cheetah Run. They have this long grassy "race track" where they have a cheetah start at one end and run as fast as it can to the end where everyone is standing and watching. I can't even tell you how fast this thing was, it was literally a BLUR with my own eyes. They go from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds and you should have seen the grass it took out trying to stop! I thought it was amazing that cheetahs actually need a lot of rest throughout the day to have the stamina that they need to run that fast, so most of the cheetahs we saw during the day were lying around.
The grounds at this zoo were so so beautiful, and for our first day in San Diego, temperatures in the 70s, it was just SO good for the soul :) Pin It
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