Safari Park

By Skeeter
The Saint and I left our Georgia Garden for a long weekend in Virginia to celebrate the 4th of July with his family. We arrived to a house with all windows open which is a pure treat this time of year. We had a wonderful boat ride on the lake then slept with the windows open and got cold during the night. Yes, we got cold in July with the windows open! It was awesome to say the least.

Where the Saints parents live on the lake, they celebrate the holiday on the Saturday closest to the 4th each year. So we were able to enjoy the fireworks over the lake from the boat just out from their cove. It is always so nice to sit in the boat and watch the fireworks shoot up over the lake and reflect in the water below. No mosquitoes, heat or humidity on this most pleasant of nights.

On the 4th of July I awoke with some itching and whelps on my left wrist and back of my head. I did not think too much about it as I assumed I had picked up chiggers while sitting on the swing under a tree in the yard. As the day went on, more and more whelps appeared on my arms, neck, stomach, upper legs, etc. The bottom left side of my lip started to swell as well. I took Benadryl (compliments of the Saints sister, Thanks again) for the itching and it helped and the lip swelling stopped. Then later on in the evening the other side of the bottom lip started to swell. This is when we decided I was having a major allergic reaction to something. The Saint and I took off to Mary Washington Hospital emergency room for help. I have never experienced an emergency room before and have only heard bad things about them so we were expecting the worst. We were both pleasantly surprised as to how wonderful of an experience we had while in the hospital. We were treated well and I was given medication to stop the swelling and itch. We entered the 24 hour pharmacy as the fireworks in downtown Fredricksburg, VA started to shoot into the sky! We had our script filled and on the road in no time at all.

The next morning the swelling was less and the whelps disappearing which made me happy to say the least. We never could decide what caused this reaction to my body so the only thing we can say is, I had hives! Nothing new was eaten by me that I have never eaten before, nor anything else any different. I reckon this will always be a mystery. I am all healed but still on medication for the remainder of the week. They make me moody by keeping me awake at night but I will deal with it.

I think the Saint was really feeling sorry for me during this mess and as a treat, he took me to the Virginia Safari Park just off the Interstate in Natural Bridge while on our return to GA. We both love animals and while living in Texas, we enjoyed visiting the safari type drive-thru parks.We drove our truck right up beside some wonderful creatures. If we had been in the car, I doubt the Saint would have made this sidetrack visit. Look at the Elk cooling in the water.
This one came to the Saints window for a treat. We purchased special food to feed the animals from our windows.
Emu and the Ostrich scare me a bit so I do not feed them but the Saint gets brave enough to let them peck his hands for food.
This Pere David deer, did not care if the Saint had food or not as the scratching was so enjoyed by this gentle fella.
I was so happy to rub the Zebra that came to my window! Zebras are such beautiful animals and no two have the same stripes. They are like our finger prints, different.
We had never seen baby emu before. Look at the cute little things under the parent bird. I assume this to be daddy bird with the babies. Daddy sits on the eggs until hatching and care for the chicks for their first 18 months.
Awwww, Aren't they so cute!
I am feeding the Nilgai treats and it is so gentle when taking the food from my hand.
This Camel on the other hand, about took the entire bucket of food right out of my hands! I had to grab it quickly before I lost the bucket. The Saint was laughing at me as I was fussing at the Camel. I won but decided to not feed any more Camels after that.
This Axis deer had the most interesting antlers. Look how they resemble the vine growing by him.
The Wildebeest (Gnu) was strange looking but docile as well.
The Llama are the most fun and interesting to observe. They tried to get into the truck with us! They were a challenge to keep at bay.
The potbellied pigs were too short for us to hand feed so we had to toss food to the ground for them to nibble.
I did not like the Watusi (Ankole) getting too close to the truck. I am sure those horns can do some major damage if he decided to do so.
Awww, Look at the baby going to mommy for a sip of milk. The babies are always so darn cute.
As mommy Llama was getting snacks from a car ahead of us, baby Llama decided to get a snack as well.
No Wildlife park would be complete without a Peacock running around. Once we drove the Safari, we parked and got out of our truck and enjoyed a stroll around the Village where we saw Kangaroo, Giraffe, Flamingos, Warthogs, Tiger, Tortoise, Pygmy Goats, etc.

We enjoyed our little side trip and it took my mind off my ills. Thanks to my Saint for bringing up my spirits with this SAFARI PARK VISIT, In the Garden...

Note: Has anyone ever had hives before? It still boggles my mind as to what caused this to happen to me. My father had it once and it remains a mystery with him as well....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,In the Garden