Safari Land

We've heard about this place but it was way more than we expected. However, I'll begin my tale with the spirit of adventure we had as we decided on the spur of the moment to head south. I printed off the directions from information and referrals, we gased up and began our 2.5-3 hour trip to Safari Land. We did great navigating until we got really close. Luckily we found our destination entering from the opposite direction. (We had zero issues departing though.) Here, you see the entrance.

The way this works is you can drive your own car through or ride a tour bus. We drove on. Nothing like seeing signs like this as you approach. This was all we were expecting, so you'll see later on why we had such a blast. There was much more to it!

The elephants were among the first animals we saw. All of the pictures at this point are taken through the glass of the windsheild/windows so sorry for the glares and spots in advance.

See the zebra painted Pajermos (like a jeep, we drive a pajermo mini)...they were everywhere and zipping around constantly. You'll also notice later on a picture of a watch tower. They were all over the place too. These animals just go where they want in this area, except for the rhino, he was sort of penned in where he was at.

This was the next gate we had to drive through. Can you see the watch towers in the distance?

Just in case you are a complete idiot, here is the official warning. Also, I love how the English translation usually is off by a word or two.

These are bear cubs. They were roped off with their mama. She kept pacing back and forth.

Ok, we had a rather interesting experience at this point. We pulled up and were going on and on about how awesome it was to see a tiger so close. And then Charlie leaned his arm against the door, causing the window to start going down. He quickly got it going in the up direction though and we had our chuckle...and were grateful the tiger was so chill.

This was right before we pulled so close to the rock for the shot above.

After we left the tigers, we got out and enjoyed a petting zoo plus little amusement park.

Luckily, I was armed with a nice sized bottle of hand sanitizer, and off we went.

We've seen a lot of kangaroos, but have never been inside and allowed to pet them!

Next, we were able to enter an area with squirrel monkeys. I think monkeys are basically nasty creatures, but this was really neat.

This couple was feeding the monkey.

This monkey was on the guy's shoulder. I tried to get the shot, but the monkey jumped up as I snapped the picture.

This guy was in a pen...no petting him. He doesn't look very friendly does he?

Also enclosed...

These white tigers looked HUGE in person!

This guy was funny! He knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to ask!

I gave Charlie a little bit of grief wearing Zach's backpack. I didn't expect we'd be out walking around so just made sure I had his backpack stocked with wipes, diapers, etc.

This area was awesome and really nice. There were lots of places for the kids to run, play and learn. We only did a few of them. If we had left earlier in the day we would have lingered in this area a bit longer.

These lion cubs were so frisky and cute!

This elephant was cool. The kids pumped the lever and water shot out of the trunk. Clara Grace paused to run up to it and then kids swarmed so we moved on. She wasn't particularly happy she didn't get to do it.

Ice cream is always a hit!

This had to be the lamest ride ever, but Clara Grace really wanted to ride it. It went in circles (with a little elevation) with lots of annoying barking.

This concluded our experience at the park and we went back to the car. We had such a blast and will likely return before we leave Japan for good. The kids thought it was really neat. It was out in the country and the scenery was beautiful. We had to drive through a nature preserve to get there. Unfortunately, since this was a spur of the moment trip the camera wasn't fully charged so it died as I tried to get shots of the countryside.

Another long lapse in time...

Let's see...what has been happening? I don't think we've done too much that has been exciting other than your typical daily stuff. Clara Grace with her riding lessons and Awana. Me working, Charlie working, and all that. I will say that Clara Grace came home last week with a note saying she was chosen to participate in a living wax biography museum the elementary school is doing. She will get to play the part of Amelia Earhart, and will have to memorize lines. She will be A.E. for half the day and then another little girl will take over the part (or vice versa) for the rest of the day. Her grade level is also putting on a Veteran's Day performance that should be very nice. She definitely keeps us busy.

Zach is doing really well. He is a bit of a brute though, and quite a rough and tumble boy. He stays bruised. These injuries happen at daycare and at home. Over the past week and a half he has had a bruise on each cheek. One happened at home when he just took off and walked right into the door frame of his bedroom. OUCH! And then the other he just woke up from his nap at daycare and he had the mark. He had two owie reports that day. He has bitten two kids over the past month and pinched an eyelid (goodness gracious!) and hit a kid yesterday. Not that he is the only one dishing it out as each time he has bitten it was days after being bitten himself. However, he is quite the charmer most of the time. He has a fairly decent vocabulary and I've noticed over the past few days that he really tries to copy the sounds you are making. He says thank you for everything which sounds more like "dank ooo". He is also on rare occasions putting two words together. Last night he wanted out of the tub after bath time and said "out pease" which was pretty cool as he hasn't really been using the word out much. He gives great hugs and loves his books.

Clara Grace alternates between being very pleased she has a little brother and annoyed to have him. I was glad to have my camera with me this morning as we were on our way to school. She pretty much stepped in and took over my role of holding Zach's hand as we made our way to the car to go to school. Although of course I had to watch like a hawk.

How cute it that!?! As Zach has gotten older, they are funny to watch at home. He adores her and follows her around. They play chase and stuff, but if she gets too bossy he puts her in her place. Refer back to the line of him being a bit of a brute.

Charlie is really doing well. He has been swimming at the gym and working really hard at physical therapy. They are impressed. He still has a bit of a limp and some pain but he is getting around really well. This week he decided to give his Harley a spin so after work he and a friend took a couple turns around the base to see how he would do. He was pleased so yesterday they took a scenic ride up to the Chicken Shack to eat (very cool Japanese restaurant). He is supposed to ride to Hiroshima today to experience the expressway. He had to drive there last night to pick up a trainer for work but the guy had a flight delay and was still in Tokyo so hopefully he gets him this morning and still has a chance to take his bike ride today. The kids and I are going to try to be in the 5K walk for breast cancer awareness this morning (did a walk with the youth center yesterday afternoon and listened to a survivor and colleague as a guest speaker) followed by riding lessons and hitting the fall bazaar.

I do have some pictures of our trip to Safari Land last weekend that I will try to post here in a little bit.

Found it!

If you read the last post you know that we could not find the Rosetta Stone software. It was recovered today...by Zach. Ironically, it was found in the desk, exactly where it should have been. I looked and looked and looked, especially in the desk. Today Zach decided to pull everything out, and there it was. Hopefully I'll be able to report that Charlie and I are making gains in Japanese soon!

Other news...

Clara Grace started the first grade! She loves it and got the teacher we were hoping for. It has been a very long week for us, but a nice one. Charlie had to do the meet the teacher thing since I had my class meeting me. It is strange to not be there for moments like that. Clara Grace loves her teacher though and was bummed today was not a school day.

Zach has a viral eye infection. We tried to take care of him at home but took him in to the doctor today to find out it is indeed viral and it has to run its course. I feel so bad for him, but he is handling it well. I think it is harder for us to see the eyes running like that. While at the doctor he would be crying and they say, "Hi!" to the doctor. It was hysterical! He is picking up new words like crazy too.

Charlie is doing really well. He is getting a lot of phyisical therapy and if I am correct, he is now capable of bending his knee 80 degrees! Just a couple of weeks ago he could only do it 35 degrees.