This water place was along our drive toward downtown San Diego. We were headed toward the Maritime Museum - a place in the harbor where we could get on and explore seven different kinds of boats. I wasn't sure how well it would go over with the kids. If this would have been a trip with just me and the kids I'm confident this would not have gone over well. Thankfully Travis, Mr. Jack-of-all-trades, was with us. He knew just enough about everything we experienced to help us all enjoy the day and learn something. He knew about submarines and periscopes. He knew about block and tackle, he worked with the kids tying knots, and he showed them walrus tusks. He knew all the verbiage for a boat's stern, bow, hull, galley, foremast, mainmast, mizzenmast, and more. He knew about America's Cup being the sailing yacht racing trophy. I was impressed.
Then we got onto another submarine. All the writings on this boat looked Greek to me...and I told Travis so. He said, "They're not Greek. They're Russian. See?" Then he pointed to the letters CCCP on one of the torpedoes. "Um, why does that mean Russian?" I asked. "Kate, weren't you listening in History class?" No. No I wasn't. History was my least favorite subject in high school. All we ever did was read looooong chapters about stuff that I didn't think affected me when I was in high school. Maybe if I had been on an actual Soviet submarine with torpedoes on it, things would have been different! (I'm sure my sister - the history major - is rolling her eyes at me right now. ;-)) But check this out...we were on the submarine. It was compact and I felt claustrophobic. There were gadgets and thing-a-ma-bobs everywhere! Living on this boat did not look fun.
While Travis teaches me, Taite, and Calla, Lincoln gives Parker a lesson on the submarine's controls.
Taite's favorite was the USS Dolphin - an American submarine. Calla's was the Surprise - a replica of an 18th century Royal Navy ship that looked like a pirate ship. Lincoln's was the pirate ship (the same one as Calla's but I'm sure any pirate ship would do.) When I asked Parker, her favorite was the Berkley, but apparently she had changed her mind several times when the question had been posed to her previously.
My favorite was the beautiful 1863 sailing ship, the Star of India. It was our last boat of the day. On it Calla said, "Mom, I'm getting dizzy!" (Sea sick.) Me too! It was certainly a windy day, making big waves. Travis told me about a friend of his who is getting ready to move onto a yacht and sail around the world. How fun...for them! I'll plan to just read their blog! We weren't even at sea for 3 hours and I needed a Dramamine. Keep me on land.
After the museum we drove our way down to Coronado - over the Coronado Bridge - to see the Naval base. Travis' dad, Jim, was stationed there for some time. The kids had lots of questions for us about Papa Jim and the Navy. We were wishing Jim was with us at this stop. We could see Mexico from where we were - we all thought that was pretty cool, too.
From there we drove 45 minutes to get home. Thankfully the kids do a great job of entertaining themselves. Taite and Calla were in the back of the van having one conversation. I could only hear Lincoln and Parker's conversation.
Lincoln: Let's play 'I'm thinking of an aminal'
Parker: Ok. I'm thinking of an aminal that's blue
L: A blue jay!
P: No
L: What?! It has to be! The blue jay is the only blue aminal in the world!
P: No! It's a lion!
Travis and I cracked up! Next was Lincoln's turn and he chose an animal that was pink. Parker was intent on the fact that it was a pig. Eventually Lincoln told her it was a flamingo, but Parker told him it was not a flamingo, it was a pig. Ok...;-) Then it was Parker's turn and she picked another color, and guess what...her animal was again a lion! After awhile Lincoln decided that he didn't want to play anymore so he started singing his songs.
Suddenly, out of no where, I hear, "Who wants to smell my feet?!" I'll let you guess who. He waits for a response. Nothing. He asks again, "Who wants to smell my feet?!" Pause. "Oh, fine, nobody is listening."
"Um, no Lincoln. I think nobody wants to smell your feet," I say. Maybe my next book should be about funny Lincoln sayings.
We got home and made a nice dinner. When dinner was over Lincoln asked his typical question, "Can I have dessert?!"
"No," was my response. "Not until all the dishes are done."
Lincoln walks over to Taite sitting on the couch. "Taite! You better get to doin' the dishes!"
Typical.
Today, (Friday) was set aside for San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. What a great place! It is the Zoo's dedicated animal conservation and breeding program facility. It was located in Escondido, California, about 35 miles northeast of the zoo in the San Pasqual Valley (an agricultural preserve). It was beautiful. They house a wide array of endangered animals. Once again, California is ahead of the game - working to increase the population of endangered animal and plant species around the world. The Safari Park is considered a third generation park because they have large open areas where they allow multiple species to roam together just like they would in the wild. They, of course, don't put predators in with they prey - that would defeat the purpose of the park. But we saw giraffes with wildebeests with gazelles with oryx with rhinos with a variety of birds and more.
There were two run-away favorites from the park. The first was the gorillas. It was fun to watch the five gorillas - ranging in age from one and a half to 55 years. We waited around long enough to see feeding time. We watched as the gorilla trainer stood at the top of the rocks and threw food at each of the gorillas. The gorillas are trained to sit in specific spots to eat, allowing each of them to eat their portion of food in peace. The Silverback likes to eat leeks and previously would walk around taking all the leeks from the other gorillas. A baby, a mom, a dad, a surrogate grandma, and another female interacting together. It was unlike anything we'd ever seen.
The other favorite was the cheetah run. We got to witness cheetah speed first hand. And we thought Taite was fast! We learned how athletes emulate cheetahs in multiple ways to increase their speed. Today the Park raced their fastest cheetah, Johari. She ran two 100 meter races. Her first race she ran in 5.06 seconds. Her second was 4.96 seconds, breaking her record and the Safari Park's record. Travis called Johari the Usain Bolt of cheetahs!
It was really eye-opening to see the conservation efforts and to hear the staggering numbers of animal species becoming endangered or extinct most often because of humans poaching, destroying habitats, or polluting. The staff at the park learned last month that the western black rhino is now extinct. There are only 8 northern white rhino left on earth - being poached for their horn. Their horns sell for minimum of $37,000 each on the black market. So sad. In Genesis 1:26-31 God puts us in charge of all the animals and plants. I wonder if He is disappointed. The Park tells us just by visiting the zoo or purchasing food or souvenirs we are helping with conservation efforts. My little butterflies and flower tell me they are willing to let us buy them souvenirs anytime. "It will really help the animals, you know!"
Once again, we shut the park down. Travis knew what he was doing when he encouraged me to bring a crockpot on this RV trip. Dinner was ready when we arrived back at the Flyer. We all ate, washed the dishes, played a game of Qwirkle and headed to bed.
Looking forward to the weekend ahead!
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