San Diego Day 3

We got up and got moving early so we could get to the zoo right when it opened.  I had read many different blog posts with tips of how to 'do' the zoo, so we arrived with a bit of a game plan.  Luckily it wasn't as busy as I feared it might be, and in our 5.5 hours there we were able to see SO MUCH!  But - there was also SO MUCH we didn't get to see.  The zoo is so big!  We walked all day from area to area and managed to see all our 'must see' animals though!  We loved watching the penguins, and were so happy to finally get to see some since they were't out when we visited Memphis and Madison zoos in recent years.  The red panda was very active, but the giant panda was sleeping!  We saw a mama koala holding a baby, and we were able to spot the sloths in hiding next to their heater.  The list could go on and on!  We took the Skyfari a couple times - I thought Riley would be eager and Leighton would be nervous, but it was the other way around at first.  They both loved it in the end ... and I wasn't as worried about it the second time around!!

After leaving the zoo, we walked through Balboa Park.  Our first stop was at the Spanish Village Art Center.  I hadn't planned on it and knew nothing about it ahead of time, but could have spent so much time looking around at all the shops.  We saw some pretty jewelry made from sea glass.  And I found a painting I really loved, but the price was high and I didn't know how to get it home with us.  It was so pretty though.

We then visited the Balboa Park Visitors Center and walked past so many pretty buildings, including the California Tower.  I would love to get a chance to visit many more areas of the park another time.

Above the tree line behind us was the Skyfari at the zoo.  So high!

We walked to the edge of the park and found the statue of Kate Sessions.  Riley knew all about her as the 'Mother of Balboa Park' from one of the Name That Book books from last year, so it was really special to find the statue.

In the evening we went with Roy to his Cerebellum Social, which he hosted for the 2nd year in a row.  We got to see several people who the kids have met in the past few years, so that was fun.  Riley was very tired at the end!  The two hour time difference would have been ok - but the addition of the time change on the first night of our trip made it a bit more tricky to get used to!