Our early bedtime led to an early wake up time. I think people were moving around by about 5 or 5:30am (8:30am Ohio time). While it seemed a bit ridiculous, we had all had enough sleep, and it would allow us to fit in the one thing we thought we would leave out – a view of the Hollywood sign from Griffith Park.
So, off we went.
First, a quick drive through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive. The traffic was light, and it made for an easy drive. Some sights along the way - a beautiful church, some well done graffiti, and Rodeo Drive
We made it to Griffith Park. It would have been worth staying here a little longer to hike some of the trails you could see carved out on the hillsides, but we were lucky to have even made it here. We posed for some pics with the iconic sign in the background and then walked up to Griffith Park Observatory – a beautiful building. There was a couple getting their wedding pictures taken here too.
From there we made about a 2-1/2 hour trek south to San Diego. When I was in middle school, I thought I wanted to work in a zoo. I researched college that had zoo-related degrees. I loved going to zoos in general. And I wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo. So, this is a dream of my middle school self coming true. I wasn’t sure if I would be disappointed. The Columbus Zoo is pretty cool. I was not. It was pricey, but the tickets were a Christmas gift from Grandma Yoh, so that helped. (Thank you!) It was very well set up with animals and foliage pretty much everywhere you were. Madison really enjoyed taking pictures of the different plants that were featured.
We all enjoyed the variety of animals. Ellie loved the pigs this time. These are both pigs, but I figure they are “pig-like.”
There is a large gang of koalas that live here. (yep! that’s what a group of koalas is called – a gang!) In fact, it is the largest population of koalas outside of Australia. I think there were about 7-8 males and 7-8 females. And there were even some babies!
The different aviaries were pretty cool, too. Jeremy was pretty thrilled with the California Condor which was almost extinct when we were in elementary school.
I love looking at all the different monkeys and apes. Madison and I each found our bonobo twin – hers was closer in age and personality to her. But it was fun to see our names on the wall. For whatever reason, Ellie saw the monkey in the cage eating with the crazy hair, and immediately called him Jeremy. So, we saw Jeremy at the zoo, too! And Ellie and I really enjoyed watching the orangutan shove his stick in and out of the (fake) termite mound to skewer and eat whatever treat he was getting. So fascinating.
We saw the polar bear turning circles, antelope munching, big cats lounging, elephants playing, and red pandas climbing around.
We hopped on the Aerial Skyfari for a ride at one point. It was really neat to be up above the zoo and see how they had set it up on the hill and then see over all of it, too. We also hopped on the Kangaroo Bus to take us a short distance. And toward the end, we made it on the (free with admission) double decker tour bus that gave you an overview of the zoo and some background information. It was really interesting – and a much needed break for our feet!
It was a good experience. We thought we had enough time being there from 11-5pm, but we certainly could have been there longer.
We left the zoo and began the drive to Barriga Springs – a little town about 2-1/2 hours from San Diego that Jeremy had ventured through for work. We stayed at a resort with an outdoor pool. Even though they were tired, Jeremy and the girls got in for a bit before climbing into bed for the night. I observed from a lounge chair.
While not as early as the night before, we were probably asleep by 8:30 or 9pm.
