Busch Gardens

Thanksgiving this year was not a traditional holiday in my house.  I woke up Thursday at 5 and went fishing.  My brother-in-law is a prison guard and he was forced to work a 12 hour shift on Gobble-Gobble Day.  For me, it meant that I could screw around and do my own thing, my own way.  So, my own way is wading into my flats and losing myself.  I was lost til about 11 until my phone blew-up and I had to head home.  I was told a great surprise was waiting for my perusal.

It turned out my girlfriend bought season tickets for Busch Gardens/Sea World/Aquatica Parks.  It was a quick turn-around from a lazy day fishing to an active day walking.  I like surprises and season passes was surely a fantastic surprise.  Once I grabbed a shower and scraped the Ladyfish off, we were under way.  It had been 2 years since I was last in Busch Gardens and my return was well overdue.  The weather was perfect and the sun was high in the sky.

There were a few new attractions and a few new animals added since we were there last.  The Cheetah Hunt Roller-coaster is new as well as the Cheetah exhibit.  There were no lines to detract from the rides or the exhibits.  The longest wait was at Sheekra; 15 minutes was the wait time.  All the other rides were 5 to 10 minutes at best.  Thanksgiving turned out to be the best day for visiting the theme park.

The Orangutan Exhibit was perfect on Thanksgiving.  The sun was high, the sky was blue and the Red- Haired-Bi-Pods were in full swing (no pun intended).  The boys and girls put on quite a show for all of tourists.  Their antics and shenanigans had me transfixed for almost an hour.  I shot a quick video that just made me laugh.

The tigers as well were out showing off their colors.  They put on quite the show as well, walking up and down the waterfall, growling at the spectators, showing their teeth for the photographers.  I enjoyed watching them strut their stuff until I was told it was Wallaby time.

  

The Kangaroo and Wallaby exhibit rounded out our day at the Park.  You can hand-feed the little guys that are just so cute you want to take one home. We spent a good hour feeding and watching them be goofy.

When I knelt down to take a quick shot of the swan I spotted a garden we hadn't been to.  So on on our way out I grabbed a couple of quick shots of some pretty purple flowers. The gardens were just the slow wandering we needed before we left for the day.  It was great to be back at Busch Gardens again after a substantial hiatus.  I'm really looking forward to going back again and having some beer and pizza, now that the initial visit is out of the way.  Who knows, maybe next weekend will be a long deserved Sea World trip?