Tuesday morning we headed to the Safari Park just outside of Guangzhou. Our friends the Adcocks joined us. It was REALLY hot - like 100 F and humid kind of hot. That, combined with the fact that it was a Tuesday, meant the crowds were pretty light, which was nice. We started with a "Safari on Wheels," a train ride through an area where the animals are not caged. Cars are allowed in, too, and the animals were coming right up to people's cars to be fed.
This is with no zoom on the camera, and no fence between us!
Of course, Sherri had done her research on this park (she's good at that planning kind of stuff) and knew of a few specifics we had to see. One was the train ride. Another was the panda exhibit - the earthquake of 2008 damaged the national panda care center, and many of the pandas were brought here. This is probably the most pandas we will ever see together in our lives.
OK - I'll admit, this shot is with a little bit of zoom, but still, we were really close!
Another of the "must-sees" was the chance to hold a baby white tiger - even though is was just for a quick second while the photo was snapped, this was pretty neat to do.
Lina was in a defiant mood for most of the morning. She wanted ice cream, and was told she had to eat something for lunch first. After a lot of "strong-willed" resistance, she finally did concede and eat a hot dog during the elephant show. That improved her mood some. And at the end of the show when she saw you could get a picture riding on an elephant, she was very excited. Elephants seem to be her favorite animal, and she really enjoyed the chance to be on one. Since she did finish the hot dog, Daddy was happy to buy her some ice cream as the rest of us ate lunch.
Lina also enjoyed seeing some of the "Dress-up" characters. She grabbed Mommy's hand and pulled her over to see them up close!
3 comments:
Hi Matt and Sherri, this is Sarah, fellow-Guilin mom. I just needed to tell you that you're doing great. Even though I've been home 8 months now with Ava, it seems like 100 years ago...until I read some of your posts! lol They seem to be similar in many ways. Ava was with her foster family for 4 years before I came along (without my husband) and took her out of the world she knew. She was 7 and they were the only family she knew. She would attach, detach, attach, detach...all day long, each day we were in China together. When she got thru the grieving, she attached solidly. Be glad for their strength, tenancity and that grieving that she feels. It's a good thing!
P.S. Sarah again...She also went thru almost the exact pattern of behavior when we got home and she met daddy and siblings. Just fyi. It will all gel before you know it. You're doing great and you're doing all the right things (setting boundaries). Sending you high 5's! Sarah
When Nathanael saw the picture with the tiger, he said, "Oh, sweet! I want to hold a baby tiger!" I had to explain to him that the Pittsburgh Zoo didn't quite offer that attraction!! Looks like you had a good day, after the hot dog, anyway! Hope your last couple of days of official business goes smoothly! Love you -- Ali
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