day three: wild animal park and coronado beach

day three is where the wheelers hit their stride. having spent two days fulfilling the “vacation” mentality that both bryan and i grew up with (see all, do all, go home exhausted), we decided it was time for a break. we introduced a concept unheard of in the family trips of our youths—one that would have mike and dennis crawling out of their skins—“leisure.”

first stop: wild animal park. we were skeptical of visiting another park masterminded by the malicious san diego zoo; however, this place is AMAZING. if it’s not on your list of san diego attractions, include it.

adding to our wild animal park experience was the fact that lisa, a good friend of mine from high school, was able to join us there. lisa does iron man triathlons and spends weeks at a time in the wilderness. how she and i ever got together remains a mystery to most. nevertheless, it’s always a pleasure to see her, and this time, she got to meet our vivacious little summer.

next stop: coronado beach. there’s a reason it’s named one of the best beaches in america—perfection. the sand. the water. the sun. and finally, baby summer could wander around and explore at will. of course, as soon as we arrived, she impetuously ran straight into the ocean. she frolicked with delight in the waves until she eventually ended up face down in the water. this, by her own pronouncement, was the end of her ocean fun. luckily, there was still plenty of good times to be had in the sand. sand which we are still finding in shoes, bags and hair four days later.

day three review: let’s just say day three had me looking up real estate opportunities in coronado. we’ll definitely be back.

 

 

  left: we continue in our quest to bring summer closer to the animals.
top right: summer loves the tram ride (and her lucky charms).

 

 

 

  top: no, that lion is not fake.
for the first time ever, we see a live, active male lion.
let’s just hope there’s always a fence between us and him.

 

meet lisa.

beach babe.

 

oh sweet sunshine!  where have you been all my life?

 

 

 

unfortunately, due to the necessary liberal application of spf 85,

emily came home with just about as much of a tan as she had when she left.

 

 

bryan finally fulfills his bodysurfing fantasy.

 

 

‘till we meet again.