Busch Gardens. Finally.

He still loves me even though I'm a scare-dy cat with heights.

We finally made it to Busch Gardens and Alex got to witness my roller coaster screams for the first time. The first ride of the day is always tough for me; I don't like heights and the feeling of falling paired with it is frightening to me as well. I sat with Kaitlin so Alex wouldn't have to experience my full set of lungs. Kaitlin, as always, is super comforting when I'm stressed. So after getting on Montu first thing, I had my adrenaline. The rest of the day was on and off with rides because of storms (they have to wait 10 minutes after each strike because all the rides generate heat).

AH! <3

Luckily there's plenty to do between rides-- watch Elephants play and eat, see Kaitlin burn for Otters lol. My favorite, of course, were the elephants. They were playing and puzzling over these toys with food inside them. It was so fascinating to watch them learn.

Baby elephant statue

I didn't know my phone zoomed... would've been handy at comic con.

My favorite ride? Cheeta Hunt. Combined with speed and height, the relaxing slow-down spots were marvelous. For me, it was worth the wait-- just wish it wasn't over an hour.

The Rhino Rally ride was fun too, though it should have been longer-- I want to see ALL the animals! Just like with the elephants, I find such simple magic amongst the animals-- they live and love just as we do, always working to figure things out and survive. I feel that there is some lost beauty when simplicity is overcome with frill and profit. I take comfort in thinking about how spending money at the park goes towards taking care of the animals. While they may not be in their natural habitat nor do they have the immense room to roam that they should, it's nice to see that they can still find ways to be happy... At least some of them. There are animals at zoos that when you look at them you see this almost inherent sadness in their eyes-- whether they were born in captivity or saved from unnatural injuries (bald eagles with shot wings).

While Busch Gardens was lots of fun (and I'm super happy Kaitlin got to come) it was not my favorite event of the week. My favorite was still yet to come.