This Place Is the Beast....I Mean, the Best!

I'm convinced "Wildlife Safari" is one of the best "Guaranteed Good Days" I could count on when it comes to making Whitley happy.  

It's about an hour and 20 minutes away, so you can relax a bit in the morning, take off at your own pace - and then cruise on in and do a wonderful safari drive through.  At this point, Whitley is in Heaven.  She gets to be out of her carseat and totally roam the car, and see all sorts of cool wildlife.  

This time, she even got to help drive the car!!

Since it's now summer, they again had the "Feed Me Cups" available to distribute to the deer-like animals in the Asia section.  I love this part....

This guy and Michele REALLY bonded.  And, for the record, his antlers felt like the softest velvet....

Whitley wasn't willing to feed them herself, but she was sure delighted watching us feed them.  

Fortunately, this time around, the emus had been kicked out of the feeding area.  They are aggressive and had bit Ellie last summer.  They were around in a later section, though.  I call it "Veloci-Ostrich". 

This little cheetah is named "Dayo".  I want to adopt him!

This picture illustrates the friendship this cheetah has with a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy born on the same day.  As "Dayo" was orphaned, it was determined he'd be raised in captivity and raised with a "pal", "Pancake" the puppy.  Eventually, they will visit classrooms together and educate the public about the efforts to save the wild cheetah population and the efforts made by "Wildlife Safari" to have successful breeding program to raise the numbers. 

It was awesome seeing this unlikely duo interact with each other.  

In the walk around village, there are several animals to peek in and inspect. 

And, an alligator....especially interesting to Whitley as her imaginary friends are crocodiles.

And, they have a park.  If they'd had a kiddie swing, we'd probably never leave this place.  

And, a petting area.

This porcupine was soooo cute.  

On the way out, Whitley got to try some cotton candy.  She liked the initial taste, but the aftertaste of the food coloring put her off.  (At least that's my theory based on my own reaction).  Probably best that she think cotton candy is yucky.  

A stop for lunch in Winston, and then we were back on the road, with a nap happening after all of the excitement.  Really, it was a perfect way to spend a Friday!