Mini-vacation semi-fail

I already know that the best part of parenting, for me, is going to be experiencing things again through the wonderstruck eyes of a child.  Though I honestly love every phase that Amaliya has passed through (even the challenging ones) I can't help but look forward to the day where she is able to come on adventures with me, see amazing things and have memorable experiences.  Sometimes I get carried away though, and try and push things too soon.  Hence, we ended up at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park a couple weeks ago.

With a very tired baby.

We were in Escondido for a friend's baby shower and I thought, why not get a hotel room for the night, and go to Safari Park the next day?  Amaliya loves animals, and running around parks, so I thought she would really enjoy it.

Things did not go as planned, of course.  We stayed late at the baby shower, keeping her up past her bedtime.  She was wired and refused to sleep in the Pack and Play in the hotel, and ended up sharing one of the double beds in our room with me all night.  She only slept 8 hours as opposed to her usual 11-12.

She was mildly excited about some big birds, and pointed out the water wherever we went.  Otherwise?  Our crazy active toddler spent the whole trip happily strapped into her stroller.  Every time we took her out to show her something, she would crawl right back in and ask to be buckled.  Elephants?  Who cares!  Sleeping lions?  Not impressed.  Not even the baby gorilla sparked her interest (though, I thought it was amazing).

I admit my mistake.  Almost-two is not quite old enough for some types of adventures.... at least not when you're sleep deprived and overstimulated.  It was still a great time though. We strolled around for a few hours in the gorgeous weather, met a very nice man who walked us through the park (where he's been coming regularly for over 20 years) and told us interesting stories, ate lunch, and packed up to come home.

We'll try again, maybe in a year or two.  It's easy to forget that, when you're two, you don't need expensive parks and big attractions.  Amaliya would have been just as happy if we took her outside and let her climb a flight of stairs 20 times, or spent the afternoon swimming in the apartment pool.  Still, I look forward to the day when she's up for the big outings.  I know she's going to be a phenomenal traveling buddy.

It wasn't a total fail, though.  We did get a few smiles out of her!