The Safari ride was about an hour long, so Dave and I took a lot of pictures. In Part 1 I posted the pictures from the beginning of our ride and this post contains the rest of the pictures from our safari adventure. There is not much to say about the ride. I am sure, that most of the animals are well known to everyone. The main actions that happened there were driving slowly through the park, feeding the animals and having FUN! Here is a beautiful Eland Antelope in the picture below.
Virginia Safari Park is a wonderful 180 acre drive through adventure. The Park is divided into two sections: The Safari and The Village. This post is about our experience in the Safari Park, which is 3 miles of winding roads and has hundreds of free roaming animals that we could see or feed from our vehicle.
There are many baby animals! Virginia Safari Park has over 100 babies born each year. We were ready to see every one of the herds of Zebra, Bison, Elk, Antelope, Deer, Ostrich and Llamas. Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!
Dave and I finally got to take our introductory flying lessons at the Freeway Airport near Bowie, MD. We had a good deal on the flight lesson tickets, which we bought in April, but decided to use them just now, in September. Our flight route was over the Chesapeake Bay and downtown Annapolis with FAA-certified flight instructors from Freeway Aviation.
This time I would like to share our experience at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey. After spending a night in a hotel we arrived at the park before its opening. Favorite Looney Tunes pals and Justice League Super Heroes characters greeted the guests in the park and were available for picture taking with them throughout the day.
We chose Monday to visit Kings Dominion theme park in Doswell Virginia near Richmond.
Kings Dominion rolled out a brand new, re-imagined Planet Snoopy, a perfect place for the kids, but we went there for the roller coasters. It was a beautiful sunny day, a little hot, but not too crowded. We were looking forward to the Volcano, Intimidator 305 and Dominator rides among others.
There is a one-third replica of the original Eiffel Tower in Paris, France on the park grounds, which offers an incredible view of the park.
Last Saturday Dave and I went for another tandem skydive. This time we jumped from DC Skydiving Center in Warrenton, VA. Surprisingly, everything was very organized. After signing all the necessary wavers, weighing in and taking a quick class on the grass near the center with the group, we moved towards the plane. The details of our previous skydiving in Delmarva, DE I described here.
The end of our snow season has arrived. We had a weekend retreat at Snowshoe again, thanks to our season passes. We had only one full day of skiing, but it was an unforgettable experience for me. The whole day was full of fun. The main reason was that, for the first time, I skied on the expert/black diamond slopes and felt comfortable doing it. It was unseasonably warm, 50° F, so it was also my first time skiing in the rain with thunder and lightning. Here is Dave on the Widowmaker slope. I can feel the rain looking at this picture. 🙂
A trip to Vermont was a highlight of our snow season. It was my first time to Okemo mountain with the largest vertical drop in southern Vermont, 2,200 feet (670 m). Besides, it was my first visit to Vermont. The 8-hour drive was a little tiring, but interesting. I was impressed with the size of the resort, high-speed lifts and the resort’s amenities. There are the nicest facilities and dining options available at Okemo. Here is a painting of Okemo mountain by James Niehues.
from jamesniehues.com
Our second trip to Snowshoe was enjoyable as well. The post about our first Snowshoe trip can be viewed here. It was snowing all 3 days of our stay at the resort. My husband and I took a long weekend trip with some friends, and had a great experience. Snowshoe has wonderful trails for every skill level, good natural snowfall and snowmaking and about 6 large terrain parks. The lodging at the resort is nice, as almost every residence is situated as a ski-in, ski-out location. This time we rented a condo right on the edge of the Main Village. We had a choice to take a shuttle to the different ski areas, or just walk up long steep stairs and start skiing from the top of the Basin. Dave was snowboarding and I was skiing. It was nice to ski/snowboard on fresh powder. It takes about 4,5 hour to get there, but it is worth it. You can’t find another place with such a big drop and long runs anywhere near what Snowshoe has.
Snowshoe Mountain is worth a visit if you like winter sports. Snowshoe Mountain is the name of the resort, not the name of the mountain itself. It is located in the bowl shaped convergence of two mountains, Cheat and Back Allegheny. Snowshoe Mountain Resort has some of the best skiing in the mid-Atlantic region and the entire east coast. It’s fairly remote, out in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia, but generally has colder temperatures and more snow than other ski areas in the mid-Atlantic. With so much area for skiing, it is not as crowded and congested as other ski areas in the region we have visited.
