On the thirteen day of a three-week summer break for niece Alison (13) and nephew Brandon (11), we headed to Safari West, a wildlife park located in Santa Rosa, CA. We would be meeting up with my cousin Sheri, her husband Chris, daughter Alexandra and their friends Steve and Krissy with daughter Evelyn. There were enough of us to have a safari vehicle all to ourselves. Passengers could also sit on the roof of the car.
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Our guide Zach also worked at Kruger National Park in South Africa, so he knew a lot about the animals we encountered on the Safari West grounds. The dirt road was hilly and windy, adding a little thrill to the drive.
Zach would stop the vehicle from time to time for us to observe the wildlife and listen to his dialogue. We did see a few of the "Big 5" as well as other familiar animals.
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"He's eating the seatbelt...":
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After the safari drive was over, Zach took us to explore the aviary part of the park.
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| flamingo in a tree |
What fun at Safari West! The kids enjoyed their time and there were a lot of animals to see. Safari rides are two hours long with morning and afternoon departures. Safari West also offers overnight glamping, with tents sleeping up to 6 - fun for a short getaway.
Afterwards, we bade everyone goodbye and drove to San Francisco. Kaleb and I were surprising the kids (technically Alison's birthday gift) with a night at the theater; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was in residence at the Curran during this time. I got discounted show tickets using a promo code from FunCheap.com. We would be staying one night at the Palace Hotel, booked through the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) program. The Amex Platinum Card offered a $200 FHR credit, with the remainder of the room cost covered using Amex Membership Rewards points. FHR benefits at the Palace Hotel included an upgraded room upon availability, complimentary breakfast for 2 and a $100 dining credit, which would cover the kids' breakfasts. We also received a welcome gift of truffles at check-in. Since parking would be expensive at the hotel, I saved money using SpotHero to reserve parking inside the Hearst Garage (155 Stevenson Street), just a block away.
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| I still think about these comfortable beds |
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The only thing the kids knew was that they had to bring dressier clothes for a night out. The theater was a 15-minute walk from the Palace Hotel. As we had to pass through a portion of Market Street, there were a few homeless around, but no one bothered us as there were many people out and about.
We grabbed a fast food dinner at Jack-in-the-Box; the kids were wondering why they had to dress up to eat there lol! However, the restaurant was across the street from the Curran and a few diners were dressed up in Hogwarts house clothing and colors, so it wasn't too long before Alison and Brandon figured it out.
We had front row seats on the Loge level, providing an unobstructed view of the stage, though a bit higher up. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of leg room for tall patrons.
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The show was good. There was time during intermission to get some Ravenclaw merch for Alison.
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After the performance, we walked back to the Palace Hotel without issue. The sidewalks were filled with theater-goers and people enjoying the nightlife.
The next morning, we enjoyed a complimentary buffet breakfast in the elegantly appointed Garden Court restaurant inside the hotel. It was a decent spread, and I'm always impressed when fresh berries are on display.
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We checked out of the hotel and drove to Golden Gate Park to visit the California Academy of Sciences. I found discounted tickets through Groupon. (at the time of this writing, there weren't any deals, but I ran into a website called discoverandgo.org where you can visit selected museums for free with a participating library card)
The academy housed an aquarium, planetarium as well as a natural history museum among its many offerings. Reservations were required for the planetarium, but they were free and could be accessed via QR code in the lobby.
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"Are there any on me yet?":
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Earthquake!
We drove back home and took a day to recuperate before our visit to Old Sacramento and the California State Railroad Museum. This museum is packed with a lot of interesting exhibits. Visitors can even board a train and see what it looked like back in the old days, including simulated rocking motion and track sounds, plus a dining car set-up.
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After an ice cream break in Old Sacramento, we went to the Museum of Science and Curiosity. It recently opened last year and wasn't crowded. There was a lot of empty space, so hopefully more exhibits were installed since then, as it wasn't as good a value compared to the railroad museum.
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Afterwards, we had Korean BBQ for dinner.
For the last few days of the kids' vacation, we took it easy and stayed home, playing lots of video games, singing karaoke and watching movies. The kids also helped make homemade pizza and wrapping soup dumplings for dinner.
We then drove to Grandma's house and spent the final weekend there, including their dad Allen, who flew in from Southern California. The kids' three-week stay with us came to an end and everyone returned home. Now Kaleb and I could relax....ahhhh. We had a fun time with the kids, but it certainly was exhausting!
Final note: all the road trip hours added up to be exactly the length of the Project Hail Mary audiobook, a sci-fi adventure by Andy Weir. The four of us enjoyed listening to it, making the time pass by quickly. The content is perfectly suited for audio, so if you haven't read the book, or even if you have, I highly recommend listening to it.
What's next? We continue our post-pandemic revenge travel with yet another cruise...this time, to the Greek Isles, bookended with pre- and post-cruise stays in Athens and Prague. Stay tuned!
(Missed reading about the first part of the three-week vacation with Alison and Brandon? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to subscribe and have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at kat (at) yellowdogtravel (d0t) com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy repeat clients - references always available.
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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