October in Cali pt2...

We did a little research and and decided that we wanted to go to either the San Diego Zoo or the SD Zoo Safari Park.  We have been to the SD Zoo before so we thought we would try the safari park.  When we got there the parking lot was almost empty.

 We walked in and there was a super helpful volunteer that basically highlighted our map and told us what to hit when and where to eat.  We went straight for the African Tram tour.  It is a HUGE place. Huge. I think I remember them saying 40,000 acres, but that may have been just the African Tram area.  It is all so open, gorgeous.  But it was HOT!

 The first animal we encountered was this Military Macaw. He was funny.  He kept squawking at his trainer until she set him down, then he pooped and squawked some more.  Boston thought he was talking just to him so they squawked back and forth for a few minutes.  We were dying laughing.

 The volunteer at the entrance said, "get a picture on the rhino, everyone does".  So, we did.

 Petting zoo time

 My batty boys.

 Looking out over the African safari area.  The park owns the land all the way to the mountains you see behind me. We took an elevator down three flights to get to the base so we could load up on the tram.

 I think this lazy lioness was the boys favorite thing they saw all day.

 On the tram tour you get to see herds of animals. It is really cool. But it was very, very hot.  We walked a little bit of the loop and went to get some lunch.  By that time Rusty and I were done, and the boys were too. We probably spent more time at the play area than we did seeing any other area.

We went back to the hotel, rested and headed to the beach.  Brenner and I stayed behind to take a nap but caught up after an hour. By then Jill, Jaci and Cindi had also arrived in Cali. We spent most of the time chasing Boston up a hill.

After a quick shower we went to dinner at Benihana's in Carlsbad. I gotta say, going somewhere where all my kids will eat, and eat a LOT, is rare. But they loved Benihana's.  We ordered a bunch of different things and everyone shared.  Of course the chef was a great entertainer. When we walked in they told us it would be a 40 minute wait, but then the manager walked over, looked at our group and said "You have a lot of kids, let's just seat you now." Pretty funny!

Brenner was only content after he got my iPhone, headphone, some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and edamame.

Our very talented and patient cook.

The birthday boy got sung to again and then we went back to the hotel to gear up for Legoland the next day!