60 Candles, 30 Million Lights, Best Friends&Family at Disney--Priceless (New 5/23)

[Poolrat]

What a nice zoo. Maybe instead of looking at the interesting billboards in Jacksonville I should be stopping at the zoo?


Maybe some day.


Cheddars looked good too. Will have to remember that name in case I ever see one on the road.

 

[solana131]

Looks like a great zoo. The giraffes are my favorite too!

 

[MeMom]

Fun time at the zoo!
I am looking forward to your Flower & Garden pictures. Glad you got this 'bonus' Disney trip.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

What a great zoo! You captured some nice pics too Kathy.

How nice you were able to see your giraffes. I agree, they are beautiful creatures! I'd love to be able to feed one someday, that sounds like a cool experience. Was it just leaves that you fed them? And clearly Mark missed his calling in life...photographer!

Oh, hi Marv! Nice that you were able to get his good side...

That Hampton Inn looks nice! We've hit some not so hot ones before but this one looks comfortable and well decorated.

Ok, I just don't get the whole chicken and waffles thing. What the heck do you put on it, syrup? It's confusing to me! I'd probably eat them separately so as not to confuse my refined palate...

Looking forward to the F&G update Kathy.

 

[glennbo123]

This turtle picture needs a caption...

Sunbathing anyone?

How about "On the count of 3, we all look in the other direction. One. Two. ..."


"Okay, this direction's fine too."

Ooo, this one is really good. I love the green.
"Don't look now, but I think there's an alligator in our guacamole."

I stayed at that Hampton Inn a couple of years ago. I even got out my travel expense report to verify that that was the hotel I stayed at. They have free wine and beer at happy hour.

 

[shan23877]

Looks like a nice zoo. If I had my pick I'd spend 3 hours in the monkey house. or, I'd skip the zoo and go shopping instead.

 

[marvali]

Let's see, you don't like Cracker Barrel and you're crazy about Awful Waffle??? I am seriously starting to question your future dining reviews after this revelation............. I'll give Mark some cred though...........the man likes his grits!!!

That is a really nice looking airport they have in Jacksonville! I have stayed at a few Hampton Inns in my life. It is usually a really great choice! Sorry Cheddar's wasn't a better experience for you, but then maybe that means it is a great place to try sometime..............

Looks like a really good zoo they have there! Quite a variety of animals. And I know you loved being able to enjoy the Giraffes like that!!!

You went inside the restroom at the Awful Waffle???

Agreed!

 

[Pluto0809]

Awesome zoo pictures! For a while there, it looked like you were at AK because all the animals are there too! My family can spend hours at any zoo. I think my brother would like to see every zoo in the US.

I don't blame you for not wanting to fly into the Atlanta airport, it can be crazy there sometimes. Plus that drive down to FL is soooo boring.

Mmmmmmm, Chicken and Waffles. Now I'm hungry.

 

[Poolrat]

We finished at the zoo and made the drive to Valdosta, Georgia...I think it took us about 2-1/2 hours after a restroom stop. We checked into a very lovely Hampton Inn & Suites:

Forgot to comment on the Hampton, My chain of choice. So easy to deal with and nice every time. I can get good AAA or even government worker discounts and their rewards program is pretty good too.

 

[disneyfan61]

Great pictures of the zoo Kathy!!

I am like that with the tigers. I could just watch them all day.

Hampton Inn-very nice!!

 

[englishrose47]

Loved the pix of the Zoo!! Don't know why but I really gravitate towards the Gorillas , they just fascinate me !! Marks Waflle Chicken looked very good , very different too !!!

 

[Simba22]

The Hampton Inn is very nice.... but it's no CSR Every time we go somewhere NOT Disney and stay in a hotel, I complain the entire time about how boring it is!

I hate seeing the big cats in those cages! And the lion with a giant brick wall! Oh the things Disney has spoiled for me! We went to the local zoo here a few years ago and I was like "how am I supposed to take pictures with this cage wire all around?!" People were looking at me like I was nuts but they just don't get it!

 

[ronnmel]

I hate seeing the big cats in those cages! And the lion with a giant brick wall! Oh the things Disney has spoiled for me! We went to the local zoo here a few years ago and I was like "how am I supposed to take pictures with this cage wire all around?!" People were looking at me like I was nuts but they just don't get it!

I was just about to comment on this! Those zoo pictures look great and sad at the same time. It pains me to see the leopard and other felines in such small and cage-looking enclosures, especially compared to what they have at Disney. Even our (not-so) local zoo (called Parc Safari) has much bigger and natural looking enclosures.

The hotel in Georgia looks very nice.

 

[jenseib]

Nice zoo shots. I do like the feeding picture, even if we can't see you, it is a really cool shot.

 

[englishrose47]

Oh Mr Elous I love me some grits too !! Yes this Brit loves Grits !!! With butter , with cheese , with redsauce , and grits and guts !!! Had some wonderful Texas friends several years ago and they initiated me into the world of grits !!!

 

[Millie12591]

It's been a while since I've been to a zoo. I'll be sure to see the tigers while at AK this trip, this post reminds me how much I need to see them this time!!

Hampton Inn has always been a pretty decent place to crash for the night, so long as it's clean.

 

[annmarieda]

I am sorry to hear that life has been so crazy for you lately. I certainly can relate. Work has not been this busy in forever! I have a "part time" job that normally I get about 39 hours a week at...and we are suppose to stay under 40... well the last couple months it is getting harder and harder to stay under 40.

The zoo looks fun. I always enjoy going to the zoo.

This picture.

I LOVE!!!

Actually, all your zoo pictures are great!

 

[KatMark]

I hope it lives up to my hype.

Jill in CO

I'll let you know what he decides when we go back.

What a cool zoo. I love the cat with the spots. Is that a leopard? I don't even know. And the giraffes are always such a treat. Thanks for posting all those pics.

It really is a great zoo. I don't reclal if it was a leopard or not. The giraffes are so much fun.

Who needs the AK Safari? You can just head to Jacksonville from now on.

I like the safari a tad better because you somtimes get a closer view of the animals.

I've never heard of Cheddar's before but they're building a new one near me so I might have to try it out. The chicken & waffles looked really good.

It was a fun, new place to try and, with the exception of the french fries, we really enjoyed it.

great photos of the zoo!

Thanks, Lisa.

awwwww baby giraffes you know I love them too! sweet you got to feed one!

It was a treat to do it three years ago and Mark knew I'd have to do it again. You can also do this at the Naples Zoo which we wil be doing in August.

hotel looks nice! dinner, wow that's a lot of chicken on that waffle looks yummy!

It was a very nice and clean hotel. Mark really had a hard time finishing that...it was huge.

Silly old Mark not taking a picture of you actually feeding the giraffe. At least he got a close up of the giraffe though. Coulda been worse...no picture at all.

You are right...it could have been worse and no picture!

We have a Cheddars here in town but have only been a couple of times. We're kind of stuck on O'Charley's lately.

I've never heard of O'Charley's. Are they all over?

My major compliant would be that some of those fences look a little too flimsy.

The fences seemed sturdy enough as I was leaning on them.

I think he did a great job of getting a nice artistic looking close up of the giraffe grabbing a bite to eat.

Artistic is NOT what I wanted him to go for, though.

That's where we stayed on our way home in December.

Did you like it as much as we did? I thought it was very clean, the beds were heavenly (although Mark hated the pillows).

 

[KatMark]

thats really cool that you can feed the giraffes like that, sounds like a really neat experience.

even if we have no "real" proof that was you feeding them.

I think it's like $3.00 to feed the giraffes; trust me, I did as I was smiling from ear to ear while doing it.

I love the zoo pictures. They have a lot of different animals there. The kids always ask to stop in Jacksonville so maybe this would be a good reason to. I agree with you...giraffes are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet.

You really ought to stop one of these trips. You certainly don't need a full day there and it is well worth it (we did skip the house where they have all the snakes and stuff).

Giraffes have always been my favorite.

What a nice zoo. Maybe instead of looking at the interesting billboards in Jacksonville I should be stopping at the zoo?

You ought to stop, Pat. I think you would enjoy it.

Cheddars looked good too. Will have to remember that name in case I ever see one on the road.

We enjoyed it; and we looked at everyone else around us an dtheir food looked good too.

Looks like a great zoo. The giraffes are my favorite too!

Thanks, Suzi. Aren't they just beautiful?

Fun time at the zoo!
I am looking forward to your Flower & Garden pictures. Glad you got this 'bonus' Disney trip.

Thanks, MeMom. We really enjoy the zoo. I'm going to do an update soon, but I don't think I'll get to F&G until the next one.

What a great zoo! You captured some nice pics too Kathy.

Thanks, Molly.

How nice you were able to see your giraffes. I agree, they are beautiful creatures! I'd love to be able to feed one someday, that sounds like a cool experience. Was it just leaves that you fed them? And clearly Mark missed his calling in life...photographer!

Yes, it is long stems with leaves on it. They have really, really long tongues.

Oh, hi Marv! Nice that you were able to get his good side...

Oh my....

That Hampton Inn looks nice! We've hit some not so hot ones before but this one looks comfortable and well decorated.

I've come to realize it really depends on "where" you are for certain hotels. We will definitely go back to this one next year.

Ok, I just don't get the whole chicken and waffles thing. What the heck do you put on it, syrup? It's confusing to me! I'd probably eat them separately so as not to confuse my refined palate...

They put the syrup on the side and Mark dipped his waffles in taht and used my ranch dressing for his hicken.

Looking forward to the F&G update Kathy.

Soon, I hope.

 

[afwdwfan]

Did you like it as much as we did? I thought it was very clean, the beds were heavenly (although Mark hated the pillows).

Well, part of the reason we stayed there is because as a chain, we always like those hotels. You know what you're going to get and they're all fairly nice. But this one was certainly on a little bit higher level.