We have a special connection with someone at Six-Flags and the park in Vallejo, California is extra cool because they have an animal park integrated with the rides! It was interesting because we learned that the park actually used to be a zoo before Six-Flags bought it and transitioned it to a theme park, while keeping some of the animal attractions. We were super excited to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend for a long weekend together in Vallejo for Mia's special 4th birthday! They are so fun to be around, the weather was so stinking perfect (on the park day...beach day...eh, not so much;)), and I feel like we got to see a whole other side to Mia's lovely personality!
As soon as we got there, we got to meet this Tiger. He was -such!- a cat! haha! They had treats for him and he totally sat with his back to us all snobby until he finally sauntered over like, "okay, I'll give you my time now" haha.
We each got a turn giving him milk from a bottle. He isn't bottle-fed anymore, but considers it a big treat. The pictures do not do him justice, I tell you he was beyond gorgeous.
This is Chewie the sloth and she was super cool! She's a two-sloth and they had woken her from a nap so she was pretty sedate. I was shocked at how soft her corse-appearing coat was! Her handler made us feel really comfortable and was great about answering all our questions. This was totally during Mia's typical nap time and she was struggling a little but we still got to feed Chewie her treats- grapes- and have a good time.
I love these pictures of Mia with this giraffe, Brandon I think his name is. He's six years old, 19 feet tall, is the tallest of the giraffes they have there (by far!) and is still growing! His mama was there and she looked mini next to him!
Treats he liked: carrot, green onion, lettuce, and his favorite, kale
His tongue was sooooooo long!!!! The more surprising thing about it, though, was how strong it was and he could curl it around even the smallest carrot and grip it strong enough to rip it right out of my hand
He. was. so. tall.
Such a brave little girl
He was super gentle, too <3
Next up were the water animals and this seal did all kinds of cute tricks for us!
Stick out your tongue!
You're on a roller coaster!!!
I was excited to interact with the walrus! I had been thinking she would have a lot of personality and she did not disappoint! Kind of fun, she is the same walrus in the movie 50 First Dates if you've ever seen it.
She did a little dance with us:
Mia's coy little smile cracked me up in this picture
The whole gang!
Then we got to sit in the center nearest the dolphins while they did a little show. Afterwards, everyone left and we got to be (really!) up close and talk to the trainer. You can see so much intelligence in their eyes!
I think if I had to pick only one thing that was my favorite from the day it would still be riding on the roller coasters with Mia. I had no idea how she would react. Sometimes she's super brave and jumps off things so high and is bold beyond imagination...other times she won't try a cookie from irrational fear that it could be 'spicy'. lol! So I really had no clue what was going to happen. But she LOVED it!!! She was begging to go again and again before the roller coaster had even come to a full stop.
Then she went on a slightly bigger ride with Dad. He was able to capture her expressions so perfectly! Oh my gosh I love love love these pictures!
***Looking up at Daddy***
Can you believe how brave this girl is?! Arms up and everything! And trust me, while it didn't go upside down, we were going plenty fast and it wasn't a "kiddy ride"!!!
She was *squealing* with delight! I can't wait to take her back!
Same with this one- don't let those cute air balloons fool you!
The next day was Saturday and surprisingly, while we were near an 'inlet' of some kind, the actual beach took a long time to drive to. It was very windy and cold when we got there but we stayed a couple hours (maybe more to quell our stomachs after an hour of switchbacks) and I know at least one little girl who had an absolute blast!
These smiles say it all!
View from the top on the drive back. So pretty!
It was very very windy lol! We pretty much had only summer clothes- each of us had a light...very light...sweater but we still had such a good day.
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