A weekend in San Diego

Our neighbor kindly let us know on a Wednesday that she would be having a party the following Saturday. It would probably be late and loud. If we were going to get any sleep that night, it would have to be somewhere other than our house. We had planned on going to the Adoption Options reunion picnic in San Diego that Saturday anyway, so I had my friend Dana find us a great deal on a hotel, and we spent the night in SD.


There was cable television in our room (which we do not have at home), so we didn't even leave the room for dinner. We had a pizza delivered, so that Frances could watch The Disney Channel. The experience reminded me of why we don't have cable!

The next day, we visited the Wild Animal Park. It was (of course) Abigail's first time seeing any of these animals. Both girls were less than thrilled with the tram ride, although I loved the opportunity to see African animals up close, and to learn all sorts of interesting information about the animals and the conservation efforts being made on their behalf. The playgrounds were a favorite place, as was the petting zoo. Frances initially said that she was too old for the petting zoo, but when given the option of waiting outside on a bench while I took Abby inside, she decided that she could suffer through it.

Abigail was uneasy around the deer, and shoved Frances ahead of her. "You go first!"

Frances approached the deer, to show Abigail that it was completely safe. Then the deer came nose to nose with Franny... hey, back off!

Finally, Frances was able to help Abby pet the deer, and I think it was a nice time for both of them.

Unlimited rides on the carousel are part of the admission, so Abigail had her first ride on it. She hated it, even on the stationary animals that don't go up & down! Frances rode it five times, on a gorilla, a black jaguar, an eagle, a reindeer, and in the spinning nest (like the Disneyland teacups, but on a carousel)!