Racecation Day 3: San Diego Zoo & La Jolla

Sunday, August 25, 2013 – Astros game; Houston, TX & Vlog
Monday, August 26, 2013 – San Diego and Old Town & Vlog
Tuesday, August 27, 2013 – Sea World and My Birthday & Vlog 
>>Wednesday, August 28, 2013 – San Diego Zoo and La Jolla<<
Thursday, August 29, 2013 – Travelling to Disneyland/Downtown Disney
Friday, August 30, 2013 – DCA and the Disneyland Half Expo & Vlog
Saturday, August 31, 2013 – Disneyland 10K and Park time & Vlog
Sunday, September 1, 2013 – Disneyland Half Marathon and more park time & Vlog

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I woke up before sunrise on Wednesday morning – apparently my body was still on Central time!  Instead of wasting time trying to fall back asleep, I  got up and walked to the little beach by our room to watch the sunrise. Jason joined me – it was a gorgeous way to begin our morning!

Our plans for the day consisted of a trip to the Zoo followed by an evening in La Jolla.

Siri took us to the correct place this time, no scenic route involved…thankfully!

I purchased Zoo tickets ahead of time online and received a $4 discount per ticket. Parking was free, too…you don’t find that very often.

Prior to our trip, I researched online for information about the Zoo. I wanted to see the highlights (if not everything) and I didn’t want to miss anything important!

The #1 piece of advice I found was to take the 35 minute Zoo bus tour first thing in the morning. The bus tour helped us understand the layout of the Zoo and pointed out the highlights of exhibits to see!

I described this map as if someone took a marker and scribbled everywhere, then placed animals in the holes. At least that’s how I felt while trying to follow it!

We saw a lot of interesting animals during our time at the Zoo…of course there were the typical elephants, giraffes, and zebras, but I’m going to share a few of the not-so-common Zoo animals here.

Mr. Koala was snoozing!

Flamingos

This Kangaroo was trying to get a tan

Why hello there, Mr. Beaver

I'm so rumbly in my tumbly, time for something sweet!

Leopard

Onto the Pandas!

This little (big) guy was sleepy!

Around noon, we were hot and tired of walking so we stopped at the Treehouse Café for lunch.

Loved the view from the top of the park!

After lunch, we walked through the aviary.

Jason decided to pretend to fish. I snapped a picture and as I did, I felt something hit my shirt.

I knew before I even looked down that a bird had pooped on me. He was mad that Jason was trying to eat his friends…but instead of taking it out on Jason, he took it out on poor little me! Needless to say, I wasn’t a happy camper!

After finishing with the birds (it was a quick tour…imagine that), we continued on to the orangutans!

 

I thought the story of Karen was SO cool….AND we share a birthday! Pretty nifty!

Of our three days in San Diego, this was by far the hottest. Thankfully, the Zoo was very shaded and alternate walkways were offered in many instances.

I wish I had worn my pedometer, we walked all over the place!

Polar bears!

I spy two Seals! :0) Aren’t they cute?

Mid-afternoon, we stopped by the outdoor theater for a showing of “Australia”. It was a cute little show, but did not have much of an audience (which I found disappointing).

On our way out of the Zoo, we rode the skyway back to the park entrance. By this point, we had walked so much the bottom of my feet were burning and I was worn out!

The Zoo from up above!

We left the Zoo around 4 p.m. and drove back to our resort to change for dinner and our evening in La Jolla.

When we reached La Jolla, we stopped along the coastline to admire the beauty around us.

We also spotted several seals chillin on the rocks!

The puppy dog on the left of the picture was hilarious. He spotted a squirrel in the brush below and all he wanted to do was stare. He wouldn’t let his owner leave! I know for a fact that Madalynn would have jumped the fence and gone after the squirrels herself! This sweet boy just wanted to watch. Loved it!

The setting sun was amazing. I’ve watched the sunset from many different places (Hawaii included)…but the sunset in La Jolla was by far the most beautiful and breathtaking sight I’d ever seen!

After watching from the railway, we decided to walk out on the levy that’s shown in the above picture.

Boy am I glad we did! What a spectacular sight!

These seals liked to people watch. :0)

After the sun finally dipped into the ocean, Jason and I made our way up to the shopping area of La Jolla for dinner and dessert.

Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant that boasted great reviews on Urban Spoon. Jason had a burrito and I had quesadillas.

Dessert was shared by Jason and I from an adorable gelato shop – my first taste of gelato. We had a scoop of Vanilla Caramel Nut and it was delicious! 

After shopping for souvenirs, we returned to our room for our last night in San Diego.

Coming up tomorrow, a vlog of our day at the Zoo! Stay tuned!

What’s your favorite animal/exhibit to see at a Zoo? I loved the Pandas and the Polar bears at the San Diego Zoo!

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