Adri’s best friend from Memphis came to visit this week and stayed 5 days. We wish she had stayed longer! We have been friends with her for over 11 years! We had so much fun going out to eat, playing games, watching movies, going to the Safari Park, the mountains, the Roanoke Star, Nancy’s Candy, Foamhenge etc.
Before we went to Safari Land, we ate across the street at this 1950’s diner called The Pink Cadillac.
It was VERY retro themed…think: Elvis, poodle skirts, old cars, and of course Humpty Dumpty (?!).
Bonnie loved the King Kong statue outside of the restaurant!
After lunch, we couldn’t resist all the signs pointing to “FOAMHENGE”.
Bonnie & Owen at Foamhenge.
By far, the most fun thing we did was going to Safari Park which is between Roanoke and Lexington Virginia.
It is a preservation for all kinds of wildlife from all over the world, and originally the park wasn’t open to the public.
When you go to the park, you have the option of touring and feeding the animals from your own car, or you can take the “Safari Wagon” tour to see and feed the animals. We REALLY recommend the Safari wagon!
While we were waiting for the next tour, we walked around their “petting zoo” area.
This was in the petting zoo area…it is one of our favorite Bonnie shots!
Here we are with one of our favorite farm animals.
At the “petting zoo” area, they have a giraffe tower (at least that’s what they call it) where you can feed the giraffes at eye level. It was very fun but their long tongues creeped Ariel out.
Say cheese!
Owen took this picture of a smiling giraffe!
When we got on the safari wagon, we turned around to find a pack of hungry dromedaries (not camels; we fed them later) running towards the wagon. These critters are SOOOOO strong! They’re nice and friendly, but they are so strong and want your food so badly that they will push you around with their massive (and heavy!) heads!
Here they are eating Adri’s hair! Ew.
We LOVE this one of Bonnie!
Look at the size of this beast’s head compared to Ariel!
Adri is amazed!
Dinnnnnner!
This animal had THE softest antlers. They felt just like velvet!
The only animal that visitors aren’t allowed to feed or pet are the zebras.
Apparently, they are very aggressive and will kick and bite if they get scared (they can even kill a lion by kicking it to death!). Bonnie almost forgot the rule and when the zebra came up to the wagon she started to pet it and then realized what she was doing. They are very pretty though.
The park is gorgeous! It is totally surrounded by mountains.
It is the perfect setting for seeing all of their animals.
They had all kinds of deer from all over the world.
Here we are at the Roanoke Mill Mountain Star.
It’s huge! It’s way up on top of a mountain in Roanoke.
There are really beautiful overlooks.
A view of Roanoke from the overlook.
We wish Bonnie could have stayed longer!
We had such a fun visit!
Ariel with her blueberry bucket.
Another shot of Ariel (she was probably eating more blueberries than she put in her bucket).
