Christmas in CA :: Safari!

The day after Christmas, the family went to Safari West, a wildlife preserve near Middletown, CA. We had the first tour of the day, so it was a beautiful 20-something degrees outside. Always good times when you can see your breath. 

You can tell mom and meg are cold-
Thank goodness Granny gave us blankets for Christmas!

This very social bird took a special interest in Meg
and her blanket

The bird was also very interested in Granny's blanket...for good nesting material!

 

This hyena is usually extremely shy...but he was just basking in the sun!

Evan, Meg, myself, and Kara (cousin) sat on the top of the jeep...and met an ostrich!

They're a mini gang...or the Fates from Hercules

Evan, Meg, myself and Kara chillin with some Zebras

These rinos were pretty hardcore...they eat 150 lbs of food a day!

We love giraffes...one of Meg and my favorite animals. So naturally I took a boatload of photos!

PORQUPINES

 

Christmas in CA :: Wine Tasting!

With the gorgeous weather California afforded us on Christmas Eve, we went to a winery on the outskirts of Napa Valley. The owners built the castle exclusively for the winery, so while it was a little crowded, it was beautiful!

We entered through the back way (no entry...except for us!) and found the wine tasteing area. With 5 wines each, I was feeling it (I'm such a lightweight), but they were soo good!

After the tastings, we spent some time traversing through the castle grounds.

In the first photo below, you can see Dad and Gramps spying on us from the top :)

         

                     

                       Arn't we adorable?

...he tolerates me ;)

   

  

      

 

That's dad and Gramps viewing us from the top!

 

"Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of elderberry" --The father in question is in the upper left

  

I love my family

Christmas in CA :: Mud Bath!

Family mud bath excursion! This company has natural mud that apparently has soothing and toxin-destroying properties. Smelled a bit like sulfur, but overall a nice relaxing experience. After 20 min in the mud, we shower off and get in a jacuzzi for further relaxation.

Afterwards, we walked around Calistoga and had an amazing lunch at Hydro--something. We went all out with the food. Calamari, burgers, mixed drinks, Italian fries, mmmm....

And the views in this part of the state are stunning.