There’s a large, prestine park near my parents’ home, so after a delicious breakfast at Huckleberrys, we all took a walk with Grandma and Papa to exert some energy and enjoy a little more bonding time.
Then we were off to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. It used to be Marine World, and is an aquarium, zoo and theme-park. If you go, buy your tickets online. Adults pay kids’ rate. It’s also worth the extra $5 for premium parking reducing your trek to the entrance.
It’s impossible to cover all that ground in one afternoon, so we stuck to the zoo and kiddie rides.
Lunch was ridiculously expensive. The “special” at the Beachside Burger Shack was four burgers, four fries and four sodas for $44.
Tom and I had guacamole burgers, and with the kids’ chicken baskets, our total came to around $50.
A highlight of the day was watching this young adult tiger eating meat treats in his very own swimming pool.
After five hours, we were more than happy to return to our hotel and crash in our beds. Tom got up to retrieve us a pizza from the restaurant next door. Food tastes so much better when you are completely exhausted.
We slept soundly, and awoke to a beautiful morning for travel. Our flight was scheduled for noon, so after packing and checking out, we met Mom and Dad at my brother’s house to say our good byes. I hope we don’t let another three years pass before our next visit.
• Do you pay the exorbitant dining rates at amusement parks?
• Aquarium, zoo, or theme park ~ which is your favorite?
• Can you identify the animal in the bottom row of the Rides & Zoo collage?
To view our youngest daughter’s fondest memories of the trip, visit my guest post at The Mama Mary Show.
Tags: amusement park, animals, aquarium, California, collage, kids, photography, rides, Sacramento, Six Flags, theme park, tiger, travel, vacation, Vallejo, zoo
At 5am, we woke and began to kill time before contacting family. We drank coffee and fed the kids ramen noodles. The girls bathed, using the cinnamon-scented soaps and lotions. Tom retrieved plates of complimentary bacon and english muffins. Finally the hour was respectable enough to make a phone call, and we were soon in my parents’ kitchen. The girls wasted no time drawing pictures to adorn Grandma & Papa’s fridge.
The pace was brisk, and we soon popped out at the Gift Shop. I couldn’t resist buying souvenir socks, water bottles, sour worms, and super fruit beans for the girls. Of course, I grabbed a bag of chocolate malt balls for myself. I love chocolate!
Each winter for the past four years we have gone in search of SNOW. Being an Arizona family, it is rare for us to experience freezing temps. Saturday, after 2 1/2 hours on the road, we reached our destination: Mount Charleston, Nevada, just 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
We made a snowman. (The base was already there.) Look at Frosty’s pea head. LOL!
On a positive note, our waitress bought Natalie and Pearl’s drawings for a dollar each. Check out these happy entrepreneurs!
