Lion Country Safari

Today we got up early and left the ship, which was a surprisingly smooth process. We were planning to go to Mass at 11 at a church called St. Patrick's in South Beach, Miami; however, the process was so seamless that we got there in time for the 9:30 Mass. They had a very good choir, and they sang a beautiful "Kyrie," but there was a weird moment when a baby was crying (as they do) and some woman yelled, "It's OK to take it out!" right in the middle of the homily. It's easier to forgive the baby than to forgive her for interrupting the priest...

Our next stop was Lion Country Safari, since Travalon had always wanted to see it, and it did not disappoint. We drove slowly through a wildlife park filled with lions, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, and all sorts of exotic antelopes. Then we parked and wandered through the second part of the park, admiring fish and smaller animals, especially an aviary full of colorful lorikeets. We really enjoyed it and took tons of photos.

We got back on the Florida Turnpike and entertained ourselves in a very 21st Century fashion: by my googling things while Travalon drove. I wanted a royal palm, and did you know you can order five seeds for $4.49 online? Then we passed a marina with inflatable quonset huts, and I wondered if you could buy those online too. Sure enough, you can. Travalon made me laugh till I cried when he said we could get one and inflate it at Rich's house if we ran out of things to talk about. Now we are just outside of Inverness... Florida, not Scotland. However, I do have my red plaid hat from Inverness, Scotland along with me. I don't need it now - I'm using Famous Hat's replacement - but soon enough we will be back north and I will need it once again.

Here are some photos from today. First are some colorful buildings in Miami.

Next are the interior of St. Patrick's, the parish building across the street, and the outside of the church:

Here are a bunch of shots from our safari:

 zebras

 young giraffe

 orange fish

 hornbills

 ti plants (like my little one at work, only pink)

 flamingos

 lorikeets

 ibises

 ibis and some sort of coot...?

gars that look like little alligators

I am going to try to upload the photos from our cameras, so stand by for that blog post.

Famous Hat