Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!

One Sunday, a few weeks ago, we had a rare break from rain. Richard and I announced to Savannah that we were going to have a lazy day around the house. Usually, she gets excited when we say this because we are always on the go. This time, she responded with a disappointed "Awwww, I wanted to go somewhere!!" Richard looked at me and spelled out "a-n-i-m-a-l" and I quickly realized that he was suggesting that we make a visit to the Animal Park that is within an hour of our home. There is a family in Mount Vernon that rehabilitates and cares for domestic, exotic and wild animals.

The owners, Julie and Bob Miner, have 43 acres of land that houses 200+ animals. We arrived and paid the fees (it is $10.00 for adults and $8 for children under 12). For an extra dollar, we bought an ice cream cone filled with food for the animals. Throughout the park, there are signs that indicate the animals that are ok to feed. The the first animals that we saw were the foxes, then the ducks (see the adorable ducklings?)

and many very hungry goats. (Are goats ever NOT hungry?) Savannah really enjoyed feeling the goats.

We then saw pigs, several species of birds and then came the black bears! There was a tube set up where Savannah could drop food into. The bears would then wait at the bottom of the tube for the food to drop down. She dropped a whole ice cream cone which seemed to make the bear very happy!

After feeding the bears, we saw peacocks, other beautiul exotic birds and kangaroos like this one below.

We saw a very sad and lonely looking dromedary. We loved his big brown eyes . He was very interested in us too. I was so happy when we walked by again to see that there were two in there! He wasn' t so lonely after all.

Then came the "big cats". There was a handsome mountain lion. He was just chillin.


The male Lion was sooo beautiful. It made me sad to wonder what his life was like before his rescue.

They have several Siberian tigers and if you look behind their habitat, you see that the tigers are in the owners' back yard! They have a second floor deck that looks down on them. Can you imagine having tigers in your back yard?? This was definitely the highlight of the trip. We were able to follow the owner around while he fed the animals. Here he is feeding the hyena! Check out the video.




Savannah was lucky enough to be able to help hold a tortoise! She said he was very heavy!

It was a very fun and educational day!! We would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something different to do for the day. It was really nice to see how much this man loves these animals and what he does.
Their Website is http://www.dewanimalkingdom.com/

Connecticut Trip

I am so behind on posting! I think that I have at least 4 different topics to blog about, so I am going to start with the Fiddler's Picnic we went to in June. We rode down to Connecticut with Richard's parents in the minivan. Richard's grandparents on his dad's side and Aunts and Uncles live in the Bristol area.

His grandfather (Pepere) is legally blind and is a fantastic fiddler! Every year, he looks forward to attending the fiddler's picnic where everyone brings a dish and the fiddlers play and sing and have a good time. They rent out a pavillion in a beautiful park in Mixville.

Here is a pic of Richard with his Aunt Julie and of course Benny in between them .


Here is Aunt Edie sitting in between Richard's parents and enjoying the show! She bought some raffle tickets, and gave Savannah a couple. Savannah ended up with the winning ticket and brought home some Connecticut Maple Syrup! It was delicious!


Here is a short clip of Pepere playing the fiddle. I'm not sure of the name of the song but it was a crowd pleaser!




Not only does he play the fiddle, but he likes to mix it up a little with the accordion! Here he is playing along side a guitarist.




You may notice that there aren't pictures of Savannah in the post, she was too busy picking up rocks and collecting these from the pond nearby! Mmmm Escargot la fresca :) (just kidding)

Kinder Camp

As most of you know, Savannah is starting Kindergarten in the fall. She is going to attend Cushing School here in Wilton. Yesterday, she spent a few hours with the three Kindergarten teachers and the other children that will be in class with her in an orientation that they call "Kinder Camp".


We drove her to school and dropped her off at 10:00 . She greeted her teachers and her friend Joseph from daycare who is also starting Kindergarten. The teachers gave her a name-tag and sent us on our way. Savannah looked a little apprehensive at first but soon relaxed and started playing.



She brought a picnic lunch, studied sea shells with a magnifying glass, and the big treat of the day was her first ride on the school bus. Even cooler was the destination: The Dutch Treat, for an ice cream cone!! When the school bus drove in, I choked back tears from seeing by baby growing up so fast and tried to put my brave face on for her. She was grinning and waving madly from the front seat !! The day was a success, and she can't wait to start school! We found out today that her first teacher is going to be Mrs. Osgood!!

Webb Lake

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Wilton, so we decided to take Savannah for her first canoe ride. We took the short scenic drive to Mount Blue State Park and rented a canoe. We made it a surprise for Savannah, and when we got there, she kept saying, "I'm so excited!!!!"

Richard did most of the rowing, but both Savannah and I gave it a try. Savannah loved bouncing on the big waves that the jet skis and bigger boats created as they zoomed by! It took me a while to get used to how much the canoe rocked, but once Richard showed me how stable it was I felt better. It had been a while since I had been in a canoe!


After we paddled around for a while, we pulled up next to a huge rock in the middle of the lake. Savannah and Richard got out and stretched their legs while I stayed in the canoe so it wouldn't drift away.


Savannah stood on the top of the rock, stretched her arms out, and felt like the Queen of the world! She definitely wants to do it again. They also have kayak and paddle boat rentals, so we plan to go again soon!!