Snore N Roar

On Wednesday, Joshua and I headed off to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for our excursion. The plan was to arrive at the park and enjoy the animals before checking in at 4pm for the official Snore n Roar program. I had us all packed and ready to go at 9am and we finally arrived around 11am so that wasn't too bad. But boy, was it hot about 90 degrees hot!

We grabbed a quick lunch and a souvenir cup to refill it many times throughout the day. We walked a lot and there is a lot to see! Lemurs and various birds are fascinating. There is a trail to hike to view some of the animals but we opted for the tram. The line wasn't too bad and we managed to hop on earlier since we were a party of two. We saw cheetahs, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeasts, and so much more! After that we had to have another round of refreshments of soda and cotton candy! Yum.

There was a little water play area so I let Josh get soaked to cool down while I watched the balloon ride. I'm not sure how much it cost but the balloon can hold probably about 10-15 people and it's attached to a cable so they can bring you back. They say the balloon goes up to 400 feet and then they pull you back in. It looks like fun. I'd do it when we have the entire family together and also visit in the cooler months. Ugh.

We had to walk back to the car and check in our luggage at the parking lot kiosk. We still had a hour before check-in so we saw The Bubble Show. It would have pretty cool but the bubbles were not behaving with the heat and wind. They also did the Mentos in Diet Coke thing which Josh got a big kick out of that.

Checking in was quick n easy. Our luggage was waiting for us but we had to bring it to our tent. We also received Snore n Roar T-shirts and Wild West was the theme. I got us a premium tent which includes sleeping bags on a queen size bed and there are also 2 more cots so it can accomadate at family of four. We had a wood floor instead of packed dirt and were central to both bathroom areas. I was surprised but we actually had electricity. Enough for a lamp, fan and mini fridge. Ha, that's my idea of camping!!

No time to relax because it was time for an info meeting by the fire pit, then dinner of hot dogs and BBQ and a 2 hour nightime tour of the park. Our tour took us to the other end of the park where we learned about the "wild west" animals like the condor, porcupine and prairie dogs etc. This was followed by an animal presentation which is a surprise until the very end depending on which animal wants to 'perform'. We got Archie a horned owl....very cool. By this time it was getting dark but nope, we had a roping lesson. Josh didn't want to try but I did. I learned how to coil the lasso and swing it around my head then let it fly. I missed the cow haybale twice but I'm gonna blame darkness on that!!

We finally make it back to camp for some popcorn. smores and refreshments. Josh drank 3 cups of hot chocolate which came to haunt us later that night. Wild Wes led the group in some campfire songs which was really fun but I had enough. We left to take a much needed shower and get ready for bed. The bathrooms were located a short walk away but Josh had a little 'accident' in the middle of the night (2am). He drank so much and fell into a deep sleep. I had a paper cup ready in case he woke up and needed to go but he woke up after the fact. Yikes. Poor guy! I had to strip off his PJs and he went right back to sleep. Ugh. I couldn't fall asleep until 3:30am after that. I listened to the lions roaring and some bird sound I didn't recognize and took a walk to the restroom where a I saw about 5 bunnies running around. By then I was tired and fell asleep.

6 am and I hear a wake up call outside our tent. Another announcement at 6:30am and we were all packed up. Breakfast was a 7am and Josh ate everything they had to offer...scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes. More hot chocolate... We bring our luggage to the check out area and take another 2 hour tour to a different part of the park. We saw the cheetahs roaming about which was totally cool and 4 baby cheetahs in the nursery that were adorable. The babies will soon get their own dog/puppy companion since they are used to sticking with the siblings for a long time but will be separated so instead they get doggy buddies. Cute. Another surprise animal encounter this time with prairie dogs and our Snore n Roar time is up.

We had a great time. Josh loved the tent but I'm not sure if he really paid all that much attention to the animals and presentations. He had his binoculars around his neck the entire time and loved to look through them. If I had a choice, I'd try to do the sleepover during the spring or fall for the cooler weather but it was lots of fun!