San Diego Zoo, Cabrillo NM and Brooks Returns Home…

No trip to San Diego would be compete without visiting their world famous zoo. Both Brooks and Katie had the zoo high on their wish lists to visit.  The day we took them it had rained the day before and had cooled  the temperatures which turned out to be perfect for visiting the zoo. Not only were there hardly any people visiting the zoo, the animals were more active than usual instead of sleeping in their hidden grottos.

The zoo opened at 9:00 am this time of year and parking was free so we arrived just before opening. What a perfect day to visit the zoo. Our friend Dave met us there (he works at the zoo) and we walked around with him for awhile. We visited the Pandas without having to stand in line and while the kids were taking photos, Dave and I were catching up on everything since we last saw each other nearly two years ago.

Dave had to leave to go back to work so we took the free narrated bus tour around the park so the kids could enjoy an overview of the park before our big walk around it. Over the next six hours we saw all there was to see at the San Diego Zoo. What great fun it was to spend the day at the zoo and hear firsthand from Dave about the exciting future expansion plan.

The next day we dropped Brooks off at the airport for his return flight to Raleigh North Carolina. Since Katie was feeling a bit melancholy due to his departure I drove over to Point Loma to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. This is a wild and scenic area where the ocean swells can be seen crashing into the majestic cliffs along the Pacific shoreline. This was a great diversion for Katie and a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Point Loma is also a great location for viewing the tidal pools but sadly we were not there at low tide so we hiked the trails instead. The rustic eroding cliffs all around us were very artistic from the wind and rain which Mother Nature has constantly pounded them with. There were places along the trails which seemed other worldly and really gave us the opportunity to appreciate the beauty there on that clear sunny San Diego day! We capped off the day at one of our favorite Happy Hour locations, OB Noodle House where we enjoyed craft beers while discussing the fun we had at beautiful Point Loma.

NOTE: We have left San Diego and are now in Yuma Arizona until December 10th.

Seeing Lots of RV Friends and the Henry Vilas Zoo…

With July 4th looming we decided to take a bike ride over to Henry Villas Park.  The park curves along the northern shore of Lake Wingra and has a nice sandy beach where we saw lots of swimmers, sunbathers, joggers, cyclists and people playing various sports. Also in the park ( or nearby) are the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and the Henry Vilas Zoo.

What is quite unique about the Henry Vilas Zoo is that it offers free admission (donations only – $2.00/person recommended).  There are some very neat exhibits at this zoo especially considering that there is no admission. There's a nice aviary, a good primate house, a wonderful herpatarium but best of all is their Arctic exhibit.

As much as we enjoyed the herpatarium exhibit the Arctic exhibit was the bomb. They had a nice display of penguins but it was the polar bears that were super entertaining! The day we visited there was a large polar bear who was enjoying swimming and as a result the near entertained the crowd swimming and frolicking in the pool. The bear would dive in the water, lazily swim on its back and then go under and come up right by the viewing window much to the giddy delight of the little kids. Then the bear would push off the glass and perform this act all over again. We very much enjoyed the entire zoo as the animals seemed happy and well cared for.

An added surprise arose after our arrival in Madison because no sooner had we set up in our site Sharon posted a few pictures on Facebook and we began receiving messages from several of our RV friends who happened to be in the area. as a result we have been doing a whole lot more socializing than we expected!

During our touring of the downtown area we were contacted by friends Darla and Brett whom we first met in Texas during our winter stay at Mission, Texas. They texted us that they were in town to take the grandkids to the zoo and were having lunch. We last saw them in Montana a couple of years ago. When they texted us we were just across the street from where they were!  Crazy isn’t it?? Happily we popped in to say hi but didn’t stay too long as we didn't want to take away from any of their cherished family time.

The second set of friends we heard from we also met at the same time in Texas as Brett and Darla. These friends Holly and Randy were staying just south of us so we went down for happy hour and they graciously made us dinner. We saw them last in New Orleans, Louisiana and since it had been a few years it was really fun catching up on all the news.

A third set of friends contacted us on Facebook and invited us to come up and see their home in a town north of us. So we hopped in the car to see Maggie and Vic whom we first met during our winter stay in Florida. Although we last saw them this past winter we looked forward to seeing them again since we will probably not winter in Florida this year. We met at their house and chatted a bit before finishing the evening at a Brew Pub. We had a nice dinner and great time catching up with Maggie and Vic.

While at Maggie and Vic's we contacted another set of RV friends, Penny and Steve, we first met in Louisiana at Betty's RV park. We told them about our Florida wintering site and now they winter there!  They also know Maggie and Vic from Florida. Anyhow we made plans for a get together for all six of us at Penny and Steve's place about 30 minutes south of us. We met up for happy hour and then made our way over to a fun restaurant for wings and beer on the waterfront of Lake Koshkonong. What fun that was…

Man all this socializing can wear a person out… but it sure is a fun part of our life on our Road of Retirement…

NOTE: We left Madison today and are headed to Green Bay WI where we will hope to find a spot for the weekend!

A Trip to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park…

One place we always wanted to visit in San Diego was its world renowned zoo. However with our budget and ticket prices just under $50.00 per person we just couldn’t justify visiting the zoo.We constantly looked for discount tickets in places like Living Social and Groupon but never found anything better than 10 percent off. That all changed when we met Dave through the RVillage web portal.

We first met Dave and his wife Patty for a walk around Liberty Station with a stop for beers at Stone Brewery. Dave informed us that he worked at the Zoo and if we wanted he would give us some complimentary tickets that were about to expire by the end of 2014. Needless to say we were excited about this possibility and when Dave found out Katie and her roommate were coming he offered us four of the passes. The girls were also excited about the opportunity to see the zoo.

We got up early so we could arrive at the zoo while the animals were still active. It has been pretty chilly here in the mornings lately so we ate breakfast and bundled up San Diego style to brave the elements. Parking is free so we found a spot and entered the zoo. The zoo is well laid out with exhibits better than most zoos I have visited but I still feel bad for the animals held in captivity at the zoo.

Even though I may feel empathy for the zoo denizens I do understand the value of zoos. Zoos have done a lot to keep animals off of the endangered list with reproductive plans for many threatened species. It is also important for the zoos to maintain the genetic profiles for many species from all over the world. So even though we might be empathetic we do know that zoos play a valuable role for the flora and fauna alike. The San Diego zoo is solely responsible for the huge increase in numbers of the California Condor whose numbers were precariously low. Through their breeding program the Condors have seen a dramatic increase in numbers and may even have been extinct by now had it not been for the efforts of the zoo and their benefactors. For all these reasons we will always support the zoos…

We all enjoyed the zoo which takes a whole day to see but a few days later Dave called me again saying he still had four passes set to expire on 1-1-2015 that we could have. Wow!!! These zoo tickets include either a  San Diego zoo visit  or a visit to the Safari Park in Escondido about 30 miles away. So on 1-1-2015 we piled into the car and drove to Escondido. Parking is $12.00 there so after paying to park we were set to enjoy this unexpected treat.

The safari park is much bigger the zoo yet very well laid out.  Since its primary purpose is as a breeding ground for many of the animals they care for there were lots of cute babies and young animals throughout the park. We took a tram through their “African Savannah” where many species are allowed to roam more freely than those at the zoo giving the feel as if we might actually be in Africa.

We all really enjoyed  this park and all agreed it was our favorite of the two. The Safari Park won hands down as it never felt as crowded as the zoo although the parking lot was nearly full. There are countless trails to walk and many opportunities for animal viewing.  It may not have the diversity of the zoo yet we found it more satisfying see all the animals and birds in a more expansive, natural setting. They all seemed to us to be “happier” than their counterparts at the zoo.

Thanks again to Dave and Patty for offering us these splendid opportunities for not just us but  for Katie and her roommate, Heather to all see such a great zoo and Safari Park. Heather and Katie headed back home last night so that brings us, as Judy would say, to the end…