CA to Palm Beach

We finally made it to Safari West in Santa Rosa.  We have been wanting to go for the last 5 years and finally made it there.   We had such a great time doing something together as a family.  It seems that when you learn and experience something NEW together it bonds you. None of the pictures turned out that great, but I want to record our experience anyway.

On top of the jeep.  We had great views and came a little too close for comfort with the giraffes (according to Stevie).  The pictures do not do it justice how close we were to the giraffes.


 The giraffe, "Suzi," came within inches of Stevie's face.  We really thought that this giraffe was going to lick Stevie's face.  Stevie is not an "animal person" and did not find this amusing at all.  It was interesting to watch the giraffe chew the leaves.  It seemed that he kept chewing and chewing the same leaf.  Our guide told us that the giraffe do not have front teeth only back teeth.and they continue to regurgitate the leaf to help with digestion.


Notice the cheetah in the background.  When we arrived at the cheetah area, there were people inside the cage with the cheetahs.  I started to freak out because I thought this was part of the tour.  I thought there is no way I am letting my children go in to "pet" and "play" with the cheetahs.  Luckily, it was not part of our tour and we can enjoy the beauty of the cheetah through a fence.
 This picture does not show how many bulls that there really are.   We learned that these bulls are the second deadliest animals to humans.   When Marky saw these bulls, he asked, "Is Daddy stronger than these bulls?"  I love that he needed the assurance that his Daddy was stronger and bigger than the bulls and he would be safe.  There was a baby bull way back in there.  It was interesting to see the bulls all sleep together.   There were so many animals to see - it was amazing to see how the beauty of these animals.




The hotel room seems to be the most fun of all!!!!  Getting ready to go swimming.  So grateful for my sweet family!!  This summer we have had to get used to Matt begin gone.  He was on tour with his musical.  We missed him deeply, but realize that the time has come that he is growing up.