Flashback Wednesday

In an effort to reach my goal of posting each day this week I am going to cheat a little. About six or seven weeks ago my little family went to Lake Tobias with my parents, grandmother, sister, nieces, and brother and his family. Time got away from me and I never chronicled our fun time. I'd been thinking to make it a Flashback Friday but haven't even gotten around to that. Today, I am going to post some photos and memories of the day before it totally escapes my mind.


First of all, let me bear my testimony of Lake Tobias...I love this place. It is just a great day-trip and fun for all. It's a wildlife park with four basic parts: a petting zoo, a little regular zoo, a reptile show and a "safari" ride. It is amazingly affordable and very fun!


After spending the initial ten minutes at the petting zoo outside the fence peering in, Maia had a major breakthrough and came into the animals' area. I was shocked! She said to me, "I just asked myself 'How many times have you seen a goat and how many times has one hurt you?'" I was so proud of her. She enjoyed petting the miniature horses and even named them. She did always keep a wary eye on the goats and wouldn't touch the larger llamas, but hey, she came in! (By the end of the day she had also petted a ring-tailed lemur, baby porcupine, python and alligator! Who is this child?)


Mackenna was, of course, a maniac chasing and feeding the goats. She basically accosted the alpaca and had to be pulled away from the petting zoo kicking and screaming. She is fearless around animals and just loves them.


Mason loved the reptile show and was first in line at the end to pet the giant python (it must have been like 12 feet or more) and baby alligator. He also spent more than his share of time with the adorable baby porcupine. Who knew that the babies were so pet-able?


Teensy had one goal and one goal only for the day: to feed a buffalo! She got her chance during the safari ride. (This is my favorite part of Lake Tobias. They have these sawed-off school buses that you ride in to go and see all these animals on the property--and you feed them from your hands!) Teensy had remembered the buffalo from last year and kept asking the whole ride when she'd be able to feed one. She kind of chickened out when she saw those big black tongues coming her way!


My favorite animals in the safari ride are the elk. At the time of year when we went, their antlers were in the velvet stage. Those gentle giants just walked right up to the bus and I could feel their soft antlers and feed them endlessly from my hand. A really big guy quickly discovered I had a big supply of crackers and was instantly my new boyfriend. I'm not a huge animal person, but I could have fed that sweet buck for hours. He was just so gentle and soft.


So, that's it. It was great to share our time there with all kinds of cousins and other relatives for my kids. I loved going on the safari with my grandmother. She loves animals and nature and it was just nice to see her so happy. My mom packed a huge picnic lunch for all of us and we had a great time.