Sleeping with Lions

Last weekend we took an excursion in the RV. It was our first weekend getaway in a long time. Usually we're packing and traveling for months at a time. The primary reason was to wash the RV (after 6 months in storage, she needed it!). The secondary reason was because we needed to inject some fun into our routine lives. We decided on a local trip - Lion Country Safari. Only about 60 miles away in West Palm Beach area, but it still felt worlds away. We camped at the KOA which borders the Safari. We were pleasantly surprised by the KOA. Normally we haven't had much luck with them when we've been on the road - they're usually overpriced for being 10' off a highway or railroad tracks. But this was nice, with pine trees, and big spaces. And the only noise we heard throughout the day & night were the sounds of lions roaring and the monkeys calling. That was really fascinating.

Saturday we did the drive-through Safari (twice). They have different types of animals based on the various regions of Africa, which are all separated by Jurassic Park-like fences. Sometimes the animals were this close....

And we had to laugh when the Tour CD said NOT to stop your cars near the rhinos...this is where the biggest traffic jams were! We did get nervous after sitting for a few minutes in front of one rhino - he started to get a look in his eye, and we started to imagine the kind of damage the car could sustain. Try explaining that to your insurance company! So Andy maneuvered the car out of the jam...

Unlike a zoo, most of the animals were with herds and had quite a bit of space to move around within their "region". You could sit and observe their behaviors or continue to drive through. We got lucky near the elephants since we were able to watch the one drink from the lake and then take a dust shower.

The safari had so many different types of animals and the CD provided some interesting facts about each of them.

Lion Country also had a walk-through section of the park that had amusement rides and some opportunities to feed animals. We fed the fish and the turtles. We fed the loud-squawking Lorikeets....

But our favorite was the opportunity to feed the giraffes. I've just fallen in love with these long eye-lashed beauties since my experience at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX.


On Sunday, we washed the RV. A neighbor child asked why it took us so long to wash our RV, but doesn't it take everyone all day?! We washed, scrubbed the black streaks off, waxed, cleaned windows, wiped compartment doors, sprayed & oiled areas, and so on and so on. And here, I thought we were an efficient team! Now I'm trying to convince Andy that we should take these weekend getaways every other month or at least once a quarter. "It'll make washing the RV easier and faster", I say.