Well it has been awhile since I have posted anything here. Mainly that is because I haven't been anywhere truly inspiring. This last two years I was focused on finishing my PhD in physics and having a baby. Try doing both of those at the same time! Now that my defense is done and my daughter is at a very enjoyable age (almost 1) it is time to start living it up again and exploring new places! At least until I find a full time job;).
Busch Gardens Tampa Florida
The trip to Busch Gardens was a wondrous day. We managed to get a special deal where we got very discounted tickets and off we went with baby in tow. I remember going to a Busch Gardens years ago in the North East area of the states. It was crowded, too hot, had lots of long lines and over priced food which made you feel queasy after consumption. This park, resembled nothing like I had expected. First, it has a zoo. Not just any zoo, it is an African themed-park with only the most interesting and rarest of animals which are worth seeing. They have restaurants, some of which are air conditioned! They have a kids park area with small water pools and rope climbing rides. They have stores with items that are not all unreasonably priced! But best of all it was not over crowded!
For this blog entry, I am going to focus on the zoo part of the park (which is the part that our family enjoyed the most that day). The first animals we saw were the gorillas. Wow. Most zoos will charge you extra to see a special Gorilla exhibit. I know The Bronx zoo does. Not here at Busch Gardens, this is all included, so feast your eyes as much as you like on the Gorillas within their huge containment area:
Notice there are no bars in the photo? That is because at Busch Gardens there is only a clear wall between you and the animals. This is great because it allows you to get real close to the animals:
As seen here in this picture of me and my daughter with the lions. These animals are not shy! They loved coming right up to the clear glass wall and looking at the visitors. I think they enjoyed seeing us as much as we enjoyed seeing them. I must note, the kids there were absolutely ecstatic to see a lion so close up, and I was also impressed. This was the first time I ever saw a lion that close up. It is an experience I will not soon forget!
Another special moment was the feeding of the giraffes. Here these wondrous creatures live in an enormous idyllic plain, and they gather to be hand fed by their human caretakers (and some select park guests). It does cost extra to feed them, but not to see them. Here is a link for more information on feeding them: Special Tour.
You get so close to the giraffes you can actually see their tongues stretch far out of their mouths to snatch a branch or grab some leaves. It was amazing!
There were also some things to see that were not as cute but were unique to Florida perhaps? Here is a caretaker fearlessly poking a huge alligator (or is that a croc) with a stick. And he was poking hard! No one was harmed while we were taking this picture:
Also in the alligator pen were a bunch of turtles chilling:
There was some incidental wildlife to see as well: The regular American wood ducklings in a stream passing through Busch Gardens. It is such a safe place, the mother duck doesn't feel compelled to be close by:
Oh, and here is a random Ostrich just walking around amongst the park guests:
Did you know that not all zoos have Elephants? The Philadelphia zoo doesn't (as of this writing)! But Busch Gardens does. They actually have a herd of them. In a ridiculous huge containment area, where you can watch them play with toys (tires, balls) and also watch them eat their dinner:
And playing:
If elephants are not impressive enough, take a ride on the free train through the African plains. It's alright to leave your stroller unattended at the train station, no one will bother it. There is so much to see! We got to see many baby animals, and nests.
This was honestly one of the few times I felt that the ticket price for a park was well worth the experience they are providing you. If you are ever in Tampa Florida, I highly recommend seeing this park, which has something for all ages to enjoy.
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