San Diego Wild Animal Park

On Sunday we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  Once again, the weather was beautiful, bright and sunny.  The weather in San Diego had been consistently in the upper 60s/lower 70s since we arrived on Wednesday.  Today our trip took us northeast of San Diego, which moved us further away from the coast.  No more need for a jacket.  Although the temperature on the van said it was 85, it felt more like 95.  We wore down a lot quicker today than we had on previous days at the other parks, but we still got to see a lot and had a lot of fun.  Our park ticket included a tram ride out into the “African Plains” to get a bit closer to the animals.  So after checking out a few animals along the way, we boarded the tram. 

This thing just cracks me up!

 This man asked the girls if they wanted to pet a giraffe.

When they said, "Yes!" he pulled a fuzzy giraffe ear out of his pocket.

 After he walked away, Emilee said, "Eewww, I just petted a dead giraffe's ear."

Seeing the "living" giraffes made it all better!

How would you like to meet this in the forest?

 Posing in front of a crashed safari jeep.

Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

She will start driving with her permit in September.

After riding through the Plains, we strolled on to the bird aviary.  My favorite animal pic of the day was of a sunbathing bird.  I’m assuming it was a she based on her theatrics, but she just threw herself on the ground, flat out on her side, fanned out her wing, threw it across her companion, and laid there basking in the sun like she was worn out.  Her companion lasted about 10 seconds before “he” (once again, I’m assuming it was a “he” based on his reaction) took off to another part of the aviary.  It was hilarious!  

"Life is just sooooo hard, but am I gorgeous or what?"

Talk about a bad hair day.

God pulled a good one on this animal.

Posing with a flock of flamingos

 Once again, Ashlee is navigating us through the park.

She can read the map better than any of us!

From there we went to the petting zoo – we can’t resist those things.  We were then on our way to the carousel when we when we were spotted a small line of people, but we couldn’t see why they were lined up.  As we were walking past, a trainer was telling passersby that they could meet one of their “animal ambassadors."  This one just happened to be a python.  Well, the girls didn’t need a second invitation.  The zoo people were taking professional pictures for purchase, so my pictures had to be taken standing behind the snake trainer - I did not have a problem with that at all!  I couldn’t get both girls to look at the same time, but I still got a couple of cute pics.  They loved it.  

In the petting zoo

Holding a python

The sun had been blaring down for quite a while, so we spent our last few minutes riding the carousel.  And, of course, on our way out, one last photo opp riding on top of the bronze rhino!

Ashlee's favorite - the gorilla!

Emilee's favorite - the zebra!

Goofing off on the rhino!

After leaving the Wild Animal Safari Park we had to make one last stop at In-N-Out Burger.  The girls enjoyed their burgers and shakes so much that they needed an encore!   So we pigged out once again and then drove over to the coast to check out one of the beaches in La Jolla.  We got there just in time to see a group of sea lions playing in the waves close to the shore.  Perfect ending to a great day!

 There were about 15 seals swimming around

on this little section close to the beach.

Enjoying the view at La Jolla Beach