Yesterday, the guys helping put in our floors said I had to be out of the house ALL day. Dilemma! What to do for an entire day with the girls in tow, whilst having access to lunch and a nap spot? Some kind neighbors and friends offered their houses as shelter, but I figured it would be less complicated and more entertaining for the girls to go on a special adventure, so we headed down to the San Diego Wild Animal Safari Park (a.k.a Samantha and Amelia’s true home).
I was a wee bit nervous to do the vast animal park solo (last time we were there in October, I had Jake, plus our friends, the Nguyens to help wrangle the twins and carry their gear), but it was uncrowded and most of the railings were lined with mesh or wire fencing, so that the girls couldn’t hop over any ledges into the hippo/gorilla/tiger enclosures. Whoever designed the park definitely had S and A in mind. It was completely toddler-proof!
S and A loved seeing the animals, but were more than happy climbing on benches and running up and down ramps.
The playgrounds alone were enough to keep the girls occupied.
I had forgotten how hilly the park was– according to my FitBit, I hiked 8 miles, half of those with 100 pounds of girls/stroller. Hence, falling asleep at 7 p.m. last night.
Amelia had a blast pointing out every giraffe/elephant/monkey/shrub.
That lion has the right idea.
Samantha– Mommy needs a foot massage, not you.
The girls’ favorite find– pineapple sorbet. Note Samantha’s Harry Potter scar.
After lunch, I laid back the seats of the stroller to the reclining position, stuffed the girls’ pillows under their heads and told them good night. There was a fair amount of giggling, poking each other through the sides of the fabric and playing peekaboo with the sunshade, but eventually, they blessedly fell asleep.
Who needs a white noise app when you’ve got a real waterfall?
I hiked around the park by myself for about an hour and just showed the girls pictures of everything they missed afterwards. It was actually really relaxing (and a good workout) pushing around two very quiet toddlers whilst admiring the animals.
The girls sleeping through Condor Ridge.
The girls sleeping through the Sumatran Tigers.
I think I probably saw more animals that day than the girls did! The best part about having a membership to the park is not feeling like we have to see everything in one day, so after an hour of the girls napping, we headed home. Amelia slept on the car ride, while Samantha woke up during the stroller-to-carseat-transition and had her eyes half-open the entire time way home.
Besides a pre-bedtime meltdown from Samantha due to not getting her full nap, our girls’ adventure was a success! I think we’ll be doing many more wild animal park outings in the future– a great way to kill a day.
Lots of love,
Way to go! That is super impressive!