Vacation ~ Day 3

Wednesday morning we were planning on getting up early to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to Winston, but in true Enfante fashion we got a wee bit of a late start.  I used to pride myself on being on time, all the time.  Then I had three kids...then we started homeschooling...then we sort of started to lose track of time.  I seriously have to start adding at least 30 minutes to our schedule just to get somewhere on time.  And now I need a synonym for time since I just wrote it about a zillion times ;)

Anyway, we started our journey and got the nice surprise of almost full service gas on our way out of town.  I mean, I knew they did it in Oregon....it's an actual law that you can't pump your own gas.  (I was yelled at once when I was younger and ignorant of that particular law...but I digress)  I know some people prefer northern Oregon to southern Oregon, but it sure is pretty up there.  Other than the slow as molasses speed limits (come on people, 20 miles per hour through a town....are you kidding me?) it was a really nice drive.

My beautifully scripted schedule that was rolling around in my dreams was to get into Winston at noon, spend a few hours at the Wildlife Safari, head back down and be in Ashland by five.  Ya, we cruised into Winston around 1:30...'cause that's just how we stroll roll.  The Wildlife Safari Park was fun.  John "thinks" it was better than the Wild Life Park in San Diego....but I think he's having a memory blank.  There is a little Village that has a few little critters, and a fun playground.  You can also ride a camel and a train if you're in the mood.

What cute, yet odd little critter they have here

Now ain't that the pits

  The main attraction though is the Safari Park that you drive through.  The lions, tigers, and bears (oh my) were behind very tall fences, but the rest of the animals were free to roam where ever they pleased.  There were some east african crested cranes that the kids nicknamed "the inspectors" since they were "inspecting" the interiors of some of the vehicles.   Of course Ethan wanted one to inspect us, but the closest he came was about two feet away.

  One of my favorite animals was the baby zebra...it was so cute!

  Ethan liked "the inspectors", Isabella liked the cheetahs, lions, and tigers, and John liked this little baby emu.

  He was trying to keep up with mama bird, but she was walking through the tall grass and he kept getting thwarted by some sticks.

 After we left the park and headed towards Ashland, I was still hopeful, but realized pretty quickly that we wouldn't get there in time to play at Lithia Park.  I remember visiting there as a kid, on a field trip, and fell in love.  I definitely have plans to come back again.  Our hotel room here was really nice, spacious, with an indoor pool so the kids had a grand time just playing in the water.  It's not within walking distance to the theaters and park, but I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express if you need to stay in Ashland.