Virginia Safari Park

We are newly returned from our week-long trip to NY, and we're all still jet-lagged. So catching up on the blog may take a bit, because in addition to settling back in and getting back on schedule, we have Miles' 3rd birthday party on Sunday... and then Jon will be leaving town for a funeral almost immediately afterwards.

We had a really solidly good trip, though! We left on Wednesday the 27th, and broke up our first leg of the journey by stopping at the Virginia Safari Park, something we've been meaning to see since we moved here. It did not disappoint!

Since Adele was expressing a strong need to get out of the car, we started with the walk-about portion of the zoo:

Miles and the Welcome Giraffe.

It was a cute zoo! It did strike me as bizarre to see some carnivores in cages, pacing, while over the grounds an army of herbivores roamed freely.

Miles introduces himself to the camel.

I had forgotten what an obnoxious sound a peacock's vocalization really is.

Hungry piglets! How can the adults be so grotesque and the offspring so unbearably adorable??

Adele is the parent kangaroo, here.

There was an admirable number of monkeys.

We were told the giraffes would eventually approach if we brought food. Nothing came of it, I assure you. They seem, incomprehensibly, to prefer eating actual leaves off of actual trees.

The parakeets did appreciate a sugary treat on a stick! Much to Miles' delight.

 Miles was very brave, persistent, and gentle. He's grown up a lot in the past months.

Jon was really struck with the water antics of the water buffalo. I guess he didn't realize how much of themselves they like to submerge.

With Adele fed and settled, we got back into the car and drove the 3 mile safari loop. We declined the bucket of feed. I'm not really comfortable with this practice (surely all these animals don't
 eat the same thing? and, it can't be healthy for them to to gorge themselves non-stop? It's just an odd model, really). But as it turned out, the animals were so used to being fed by stopped cars that they walked right up and stuck their heads into the car anyway:

Llama. In my car.

Do you have any Grey Poupon?

I wish I could remember half of the names of these grazers. Bonus points if you comment with the name of this critter.

Brake for llamas.

His horns are furry. I know, because we touched them.

These bison didn't approach, for which I am grateful. But I enjoyed watching them. Especially the calf.

This zebra actually folded our rearview mirror....

...and then fixed it.

He was ENRAPTURED.

Couldn't believe this was happening to him. Nor could I, to be honest.

Last critter: baby emu. How often do you see that?

I'll call this success!

Always break up the road trips with tiring, outdoor adventures. The result is totally worth the trouble. 

From here, we went to Washington, D.C. and stayed with Mike and Stefanie Brown, our old friends. It was so comfy staying with them and a joy to catch up! We launched on Thursday morning and arrived in Rochester on Thursday night. Pictures of the weekend to come!