Sunday, September 12, 2010

Safari Park

PICTURES: The Sea of Umbrellas, the girls in our group, Yanzi and her umbrella, Feeding the Giraffi, One of the many pandas

Today we did get to go to the Safari Park even though it was pouring rain. I really wanted to go to the Christian church down the street but it was at 11am and the service was 2 hours. Our group was leaving for the Park at 9am. I figured the kids would not make it through church so we did go to the park. As I said, it was pouring rain when we got there. We had umbrellas but at points it was raining so hard, that we were still getting wet. We ended up buying some rain ponchos for the kids, unfortunately the kids sizes were only in pink so Dominic really had to want one to wear pink. Thankfully the rain did taper off and eventually stopped. THe park was really great. THere was a walking area and a riding area. The thing that stands out at this park was just how many of each animal there were. On the riding side, we got to see tigers (white and regular), lions, bears ,deer and zebras but there were not just a few of each, there were many. Dominic saw 14 in the white tiger section! There were also 10 panda bears here. More than any other place in the world. 6 of the Pandas had been transferred from a Panda rescue that got hit hard in the earthquake last year. It was really great to see these animals. Yanzi had said that she had never been to a zoo before so she really did enjoy seeing the animals. We even got to feed the giraffi. Yanzi did not want to do it at first but after she watched several others do it, she was excited to try. The thing that cracked me up the most was when we were on the tram riding through the park, Yanzi would wave to the animals, every single one of them! And it was not just a normal wave, it was the princess parade wave. It just was so cute.

That was the big part of our day. We ate a late lunch at the Deli( which is out the back of the hotel to the left) and then a late dinner at the Western restaurant on the Island named Lucy's( to the right outside the back of the hotel). You never know quite what she will eat but she definitely is a french fries girl.

THe only break down we had today is a nap time. Even though you could mistaken the crying for sadness, she was just upset that I made her lay down. I laid with her but the crying kept getting worse. I was actually getting a little peaved because I knew that she was trying to convince me to let her up but instead, I held her some and the crying toned down until she finally fell asleep. After 1.5 hours Russ woke us up and it was hard to get her out of bed ( I knew she was tired).

We also started some shopping today. Got some really good bargins thanks to Russ' negotiating skills. Even the shop keepers laugh at how serious he takes it. More shopping on the list tomorrow, I think Russ actually is looking forward to it.
Not much tomorrow just the TB test reading and some paperwork.

1 comment:

Craig and Phyllis said...

Yeah for Russ's great bargaining! We are on vacation now, so I had missed being able to read a few of your posts. So very glad to hear that the flight went so well! I guess we should have stayed at the zoo longer with our Astrakhan group. Give your practice for today! I cant believe your description of the hotel and the pictures. Worlds away from the Azimut and the Korvet!! : ) Still praying!