We left Sunday morning on the 3 hour drive, and Ella slept for 2 out of the 3 hours, which was great. We NEVER get that lucky on car trips with her, she's usually very cranky. It was so nice to carry on a conversation and not get interrupted. :)
After we arrived and checked out our room, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We were conveniently located by a Champps, So Brad was able to catch up on all the football games and it counted as family time. LOL
We found a local mall (my definition of family time) and then came back to the hotel and swam for quite awhile.
Right after we arrived. Brad and Ella were checking out the bed and drooling over the HDTV.
Acting like she owns the place, feeling right at home!
Ella's quite the little fish; she sure has no fear! That's good and bad...we sure have to watch her very closely. She had a great time, though, and we had the pool to ourselves, which was nice too.
On our way down to the pool. I love her little bum! :)
Happy as can be in the water!
"Hey mom, come on in, the water's great!"
Monday morning we got around and headed for the zoo. Ella had to get in on the "primping." I'm waiting for the day I round the corner and catch her with my lipstick all over her. I can guarantee it'll happen. I have to hide to put on lip gloss so she's not begging me for some. What's the deal with that?? Is it just instinct for little girls? It's not like I wear a lot of make-up, believe me; I should probably wear more!
We couldn't have picked a more perfect day. It was gorgeous out and we almost felt like we had the place to ourselves! This huge zoo, and the parking lot was practically empty!
One of the highlights was seeing a baby elephant. They are one of my favorite animals, I could've stayed right there all day. Ella was most interested in the ball the baby was playing with.
Up close and personal with a tiger. It kept walking back and forth and Ella would try to reach out and grab it each time.
They have a great aquarium area, complete with manatees.
They had several types of monkey/apes/orangutans, and they're also fascinating. Definitely the closest to human. There were a couple of young monkeys that were running around chasing and picking on each other just like normal siblings. I could've stayed there all day, too. This orangutan was trying to nap in the shade, but was rudely kept awake by my ever-curious daughter.
There were several statues of different animals to climb on.
We had a great time walking around, and our feet sure felt it at the end of the day!
We spent 3 1/2-4 hours there and still didn't see everything. We would definitely go back again and highly recommend it to anyone who's been thinking about going.End of the day pose. A good zoo equals a pooped toddler!
BONUS* Ella was wiped out and slept most of the way home, too!! :)
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