San Diego Wild Animal Park

We visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the Harveys. It is double the size of the San Diego Zoo. They had been to the zoo, so we opted to visit the Wild Animal Park. Both the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park are owned and operated by the San Diego Zoo. The Park is located north of metro city of San Diego, but is still in the county of San Diego. It is a loooooong 46 mile drive from my house. The whole way there Son1 kept asking if we were still in San Diego, OVER and OVER. He was so sincere. The Harveys and I cracked up each time. The park is also a ways off the freeway, around and around through some desert areas of Escondido. Finally, we arrived, piled out of the car, and were through the entrance. Many of these pictures are courtesy of the Harveys. We were blessed the weather was in the 60s. Escondido can be one of the hottest spots in the whole county during the warmer months, into the triple digits. See all of the gorgeous landscaping at the park? You literally feel like you are walking through the jungle.
Many people come to the Wild Animal Park just to enjoy the beauty of the different gardens. The Wild Animal Park displays plants used with special permits from all over the world, including endangered plant species. Both the SD Zoo and the SD Wild Animal Park are also rescue centers for endangered plants. There are different elevations all around the park, so the plants are varied and truly their own eye candy. San Diego keeps a mild Mediterranean climate, so that is why almost anything grows here! The SD Zoo and SD Wild Animal Park have expert horticulturists. The healthy plants and gardens are vital to keeping the animals healthy. J and K kept commenting on the different plants and species all around the park. I told them that there are plenty of people that hold season passes to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park (like my parents) that come and enjoy the landscaping as much as they enjoy the animals. The plant collection at the Wild Animal Park cannot be replicated hardly anywhere in one spot in the world.

One of my favorite spots in the Park was Lorikeet Landing. Lorikeets are colorful little parrots from rainforests in Australia and New Guinea. We walked into this spacious aviary, where over 80 birds live. The birds were super friendly. They landed right on different people's shoulders. My kids were somewhat timid, but little A was not. The birds sensed this and came right up to her. The birds were loud and chattery, and quite friendly. The excitement of the other guests caught on to my children soon enough. The bird noises were beautiful, their colors were vibrant, and their friendliness was mesmerizing. The Wild Animal Park is unique because the animals are kept in free range exhibits. In other words, the animals have free roam within large open spaces, but they are still somewhat confined. See this pelican?J and A watched the pelican from this extensive pathway that encircled the lengthy pond, that was bordered on one end by a large waterfall. We also watched the pelican take off and soar high above the pond. We felt like we watched the pelican in a natural habitat. That is what makes the Wild Animal Park special!We walked a two mile trail that wound us through distinct habitats. We spiraled through the rain forest, open savananna, and along shaded trails. The cool thing about the Wild Animal Park is that you can choose different ways to see the animals. At one point in our journey, we came to the viewing deck at The Great Rift Lift, and we had an inspiring view high in the air. The deck wraps around for many, many feet.
We rode the elevators down to the bottom, and boarded the open sided African Express cars at Simba Station. Our guide took us on another 2 mile excursion through the African desert, where we saw the animals up close, roaming in mass open spaces. The cheetahs were lazing in the sun, the giraffes were grazing on leaves, and the rhinos were enjoying family time.


We departed Journey into Africa and wandered up to Lion Camp. The big cats were asleep, but the kids loved watching them. See those rocks? They are heated in the winter for the lions.
At Lion Camp (and most exhibits throughout the park) the information surrounding the lions is available at different reading levels. It is a noticeable difference from exhibits at other zoos. The SD Zoo is uniquely committed to both conservation and education. Around the corner are more lengthy information boards mounted higher for adults. For children, there are interactive learning aids with shorter questions and answers about the lions.The Harveys generously treated our family to a ride on the Conservation Carousel. The animals on the carousel are purchased in memory of loved ones or as donations to conservation efforts by the Wild Animal Park. Many animals on the carousel are endangered animals. Son1 and A loved their animals, unlike Son2. He is usually my fearless super action kid, but he was too afraid he was going to fall from the carousel.
Instead Son2 and I chose a bird's nest that spun like a tea cup. Apparently speed doesn't frighten him, just heights!
The Harveys shopped a bit while we entertained ourselves like frogs at the entrance to Nairobi Village. The waterfall behind us was designed after the ceremonial chamber of a Ugandan king.
We packed a lot into four hours at the Wild Animal Park. We mounted a replica of a bronzed life sized white rhino for one last goodbye.

We finally got back to my house....and have I mentioned how great the Harveys are every time they come? After a long day at the Wild Animal Park they made our family dinner! They pulled spices from their suitcases, shopped for food, and made dinner! Hooray!

Aloha and Ahui Hou to the Harveys!

The last Harvey day was the absolute epitome of life in paradise. The sun was high and bright, the trade winds were ever so slight, they sky was picturesque, and the water was warm. We scrambled to get all three children, four adults, and all of our beach gear packed up for an early morning drive to the North Shore. We pulled into Waimea Bay Beach Park and slid into two empty spots, just as the lot filled up.

Waimea Bay is one of the top white sand beaches in the world. Our family loves Waimea more than any other beach on Oahu. It is never crowded on the sand, though the parking lot gives a different impression. The lot is on the smaller side, though. In the summer, the waters are super calm and flat, like glass. In the winter, this is the place to be. It looks completely different, with waves as high as 30 feet, and the inshore break can be up to 12 feet. Waimea Bay is a filming location for LOST and also home to the Quicksilver competition in the winter. The surf is amazing and dangerous, and also sadly, fatal. The Harveys last saw Waimea Bay when the surf was up. This time, they had a completely different experience.

We sat on the beach for just a few minutes. The water was too inviting. Since the bay has a remarkably strong under tow at the shore we swam a little farther out for calmer water.

A few guys were paddle surfing the width of the bay. Paddle surfing dates back to early Polynesia, with Hawaiian roots. The boards used are slightly different than regular surf boards. They are longer, may have more fins, have padded decks, and concave hulls. Remember what happened when we saw a paddle surfer the other day?

There was a second attempt.

We swam and enjoyed the island's warmth until the minutes on the clock ran out. Just to give you a closer look at the bay:

Right before we left, J slipped matching sarongs on herself and on little A. They were too cute!! Hawaiian sarongs are fringed on the ends, with bright colors, and usually have animals or plant prints.

We stopped in Hale'iwa (pronounced Ha-Lee-Ee-vah) for lunch. J had asked us previously about that teriyaki cheese fries place that I blog so much about. A guilty smile spread across my face when she asked, with a spatter of pleasure. Another diet cheating day!!!! It was a Grass Skirt Grill day! I have never actually shown you what this place looks like. Our favorite seats are at the far left, outside. That's where the two tables are with the longest benches. The door to the restaurant is at the extreme right. The owner of Grass Skirt Grill owns Strong Current, the surf shop next door, too. All seven of us had teriyaki cheese fries, to prove to y'all we are good parents. We devoured our cheeseburgers with 1/2 an avocado roosted on top. The kids feasted on chicken strips, but they all wanted teriyaki cheese fries!
After lunch the Harveys stopped by the Dole Plantation for a pineapple whip. J had been dreaming of one the moment she stepped off the plane. They are so wonderfully unique, we usually buy them, too, each time we ride the Dole Plantation train. And Son1 knows. He reminds us of their existence. But no pineapple whips today for the Farmers! We hurried home, lest Son2 take a mini nap in the car, and then skip his afternoon nap entirely.

The kids napped, and J and I ran out the door for some last minute shopping. She knew exactly what to buy. Some of the last things she picked up were Hawaiian Island Tea packages. These are specialty teas blended with all-natural ingredients and exotic tropical fruit flavors. The teas are so fragrant and flavorful. This is a Have to Have item if you are a tea drinker!!

We returned home, and had our last supper together, well, at least for 2008.

The Harveys loaded all of their belongings in their car, we walked them outside, and bid them Aloha Ahui Hou! (Aloha Ah-who-ee Ho!) This means, goodbye, until we meet again. It is a beautiful way to say goodbye in Hawaii. It's never really good bye. And yes, there were tears, but only for one little boy. In the 3 1/2 years we have lived in Hawaii, Son1 has cried only twice at guest goodbyes. And both times were for the Harveys. That says something.

Waimea Falls With the Harveys AND Falling Asleep Laughing

We spent some of the second day with the Harveys at Waimea Valley Audubon Center. It is a 3/4 mile trek, one way, to the waterfall where Kate and Sawyer swam, on LOST. Parts of the walk are steep, other parts are flat. Wild peacocks roam the grounds. We usually see male peacocks. This day, we saw a mama peacock hovering over her babies. It was quite a sight, and quite a treat. Later on the walk, we found a large cluster of bamboo. See in the middle picture how tall these sun shelters were?! The bamboo towered over the shelters. See how Son1 and I are walking straight toward the bamboo? The best treat was hearing the wind blow the shoots into one another and hear them knocking hard toward one another. We could hear the hollowness of the shoots.

Parts of the walk the trees rose several feet in the air and created welcome canopies of shade.

Everywhere we turned there were flowers. Some of these pictures on this post are ours, and some are the Harvey's. So eat them all up!! The red flowers are a type of heliconia. They kind of look like flamingos. They cascade down from green palms. The yellow flowers grow up in a rectangular prism shape, and then taper into a cone top, with white flowers. The purple ones were just starting to open.

This banana tree is flowering while producing fruit. I had never seen such a thing! Well, not as pastel as this flower! This banana tree is a totally different variety than the kind we have in our back yard. On the left is another type of heliconia. This type shoots up out of the palms. We have this in our back yard. The last flower is ginger. These are common in the Hawaiian islands, and I wish we would have planted these in our yard, too!!

The middle picture is a flowering hibiscus.

We followed the trail to the waterfall. Now I am not sure how we were absolutely shocked. As we walked along the paved road from the entrance to the waterfall, it was completely apparent there was no water flowing into through the creek beds thirty or more feet below. This was so different than when we were here in March for the tea and with our family. We arrived and found no waterfall. The pool below was nearly empty. Summer heat and less rainfall took their toll on the waterfall, swimming hole, and running creeks. It was a little anticlimactic.

There was still the walk back, though. We experienced more of God's beauty all the way back to the car.
We jumped back in the cars, and traveled farther north to Turtle Bay. Even though this smaller beach is part of the fancy shmancy resort, it is a public beach. The waters are calm because they are protected by a reef, and a perfect entry for our small keiki. Turtle Bay Resort also owns most of the land where LOST is filmed for beach scenes and for trail scenes.

Real dads float with their kids while real moms sit on rented lounge chairs that some nice person let us use for their last 30 minutes!!

It got to be "that time." That time, being the time that if we didn't leave, there were going to be some meltdowns. We drove home around sunset, put the kids to bed, and had some adult time.

During our adult time, we laughed, laughed and laughed. We howled. I made promises that I wouldn't blog about what was said to the three other adults. Now don't worry, we weren't talking about any of y'all. It was all about the people sitting in the room.

Finally, we knew we were fading, and gave into bedtime. We said good night, and Hubby and I headed for our room. He finished brushing his teeth, and found me flopped on my tummy across our bed. He asked if I was sleeping. I sprang up into a sitting position. NOPE! I was sitting there with a grin from ear to ear. I explained to Hubby that my heart just felt very, very full. We hadn't laughed like that in weeks. The Harvey visit was just what we needed, right in the middle of the stress of selling our house, and our crazy, no date in sight, move. Their visit was a welcome distraction. We went to bed, sad that the last Harvey day was coming.

Show Some Aloha to the Texans, Y'All!

The Harveys were our very first couple friends in Northern VA. We met them at a church neither of us continued to attend. One Sunday Hubby practically bowled me down a pew to ask J for her number. Can you believe I was shy? (I am a shy, over the top, extrovert. We DO exist!) We exchanged numbers and that was the beginning of our friendship! When J graduated law school in 2003, they both found jobs in Texas, near their families. Since then, they have visited us twice in Hawaii.

Do you love this picture? It was from a different part of their Hawaii trip!!

The Harveys spent their last three days in Hawaii with us. They had already been to the Big Island the week before, and then spent some time on our island of Oahu before arriving at our home. Our babies had met back in 2006 when J and I were both pregnant. I am sure they must have waved in utero. They were comfortable enough...they shared snacks.

The Harveys arrived shortly after our Open House was over. My children absolutely revolted against our clean house, and pulled out the hidden toy baskets. In the mean time, I talked to the Harveys for two straight hours until Hubby got home. They are those friends, you know those friends, the kind that show up and it's like no time has passed.

Hubby came home from work, and the jabbering went on for another hour or two until dinner. And I guess not enough was said, because it went on after dinner, and then after the kids went to bed.
And the kids, well they were kids. My boys were happy for a new playmate, and little A was happy for toys, toys, and more toys. Hmmm....well, she is just happy, happy all of the time. And adorable, too.

She dug our stairs. Every day was a stairs day.

The Harveys were great house guests. They truly engaged our kids, and loved on them. We were overwhelmed. Their primary reason to spend a few days with us was just for "Farmer Time."
Right before we all went to bed the first night, Hubby asked if we had ever taken them to Sandy's. Ohhh J remembered. She even told her mom she hoped we would go again.

The next morning we got ourselves and the kids up and out the door. We ordered our homestyle Hawaiian breakfasts when Auntie made the rounds to our table. She was experimenting with a new recipe for their infamous crater pancake, baked in the oven. Usually it is topped with lemon, butter, and powdered sugar. Today's was topped with baked fresh pineapple in a sweet and sugary sauce. Aaahhh just one more time Hubby and I delighted in cheating on the South Beach. Three of us ate half before I remembered to take a picture for y'all.More Harvey Time to come....