"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Pine Mtn. Safari

Good Morning! Has anyone been to Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari? It's a mile long little adventure driving though an animal forest reserve. There are better safari's and I've even been to better ones, but this is fairly close to home and it's easy to get to. We go every year. The GS loves it - heck I love it too - in fact it is one of the things we can all agree about!

Once there we rent a van that is painted like a zebra. Bought four large bags of food. Oh yeah - you get to feed the animals. It's a great time. Now the drivers window can be controlled and I am the driver because I'll stop whenever and how long the group wants to stay in one place.

All the other windows are missing. They do have bars across them so that the whole animal can't get in - but they can get in enough - trust me.

We had lots of laughs and screams. So much fun. We happened to go on the coldest day of the year so far - it was freezing. We even brought Disco.

Below are some of the animals we fed. Imagine a lot of screaming going on. Food pellets flying. I remember the slobber rags thank goodness.

Do you think I screamed? l I was rolling the window down just a little (I thought) and looked to the other side of the car. Well it was an automatic window and once it started going down it didn't stop - the window went all the way down.

I turned around and this HUGE cow - that was drooling the BIGGEST DROOL EVER - was right next to my face and drooled all over me! I screamed like a girl for a long long time. It scared me to death - the animal and the drool. YUCK!

If you ever get the chance go to one of these places. - go! It's fun and you get to get right up to the animals - close and personal! It is a memory we'll remember for all time.

Grandson designed his own attire.


The first area where you come in are the donkeys.


The ostriches were scary to me - they had the meanest eyes like they would like to peck your eyes out.
He's so sweet - he loved it all and tired to feed each one - especially the babies.

The lions were kept in cages.


As were the camels - have you heard camels spit?




Sandie trying out her photo skills - he was actually far away - the blue heron.

Centered my duck - they moved so fast.




I thought this duck was pretty.



Rhino


The goats came right up to the van and put their feet on it to get food.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

PS For Gloria - about the beef stew - they were black olives. And the spice is in the spice rack 0r you could look it up and find out the grouping and put them in there. Some famous cooks tie them together and then take it out at the end.
x_3cba1fd

54 comments:

Shelly said...

That safari sounds like huge fun. I've had cow slobber on me many times and I know what you mean about it.

dr momi said...

Oh my goodness does that look like fun! I would have truely been squealing too if I turned around and a cow tongue was drooling on me! I went to a place like that just outside of Toronto, nothing like it around here though.

Blondee said...

What a super fun adventure! We homeschool and took our children to a park nearby that is a similar experience. You ride on an open trolley and feed the animals. It's so strange to have giraffe and bison following you and trying to eat food from your hands!

Thank you so much for the concern and prayers for Lauren's family. This entire case has been a miscarriage of justice. David Trebilcock is a child predator who embedded himself in the home of an innocent family and a lovely community. His angle was being near children and not a single one of us knew. He didn't act badly toward the children. What I left out of my post for the sake of the readers is he had a huge cache of child porn on his computer, had googled hours before how to get off murder charges and had admitted to Lauren's Mom hours before the murder that he had a sex addiciton, had been having affairs and was online at all hours for his nastiness. They had fought and she told him she didn't know if they could work through this. He asked her to marry him and she refused. Eight hours later he murdered her daughter with the intent of killing all of them. ALL of this came out in court and yet the judge let him off all charges saying he must be insane. No, he's a child predator who is willing to bide his time in order to get back into society.

Thank you for the prayers. I am your newest follower. :)

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

What fun! I love those places, and we haven't been since the twins were about 3 weeks old! You got great pictures on your trip :-)

Love how the dog handles stress.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

I have never been to the wild safari park...I like the pics of all the animals...Good thing the lion was in a cage:)

Marti said...

Kids and animals, what fun. All except the slobbers. Have a good day.

Jill said...

I love places like that. I wish we had some around here. The donkey picture reminded me of seeing the donkeys in the Black Hills. They came right to the car for carrots too but one of them bit me. Was a hoot! I don't think I could have handled all of the cow drool! Way to go, Grandma!

Anonymous said...

I've never been but it looks like fun. Great photos you have shared. Love that quote at the end!!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

That safari looks GREAT, Sandie... I'm sure you all enjoyed it --especially your grandson... Thanks for all of the great photos...

Love that last sign about handling stress like a dog... TOO CUTE.

Hugs,
Betsy

Wanda's Wings said...

Wow sounds like fun! I have never been to a place like that.

MadSnapper said...

i want to go there, these are marvelous, i know there was a lot of laughing going on. and i like the dog thing at the end, i am going to DO it one of these days

TexWisGirl said...

i like getting up close and personal with animals. :)

Pat MacKenzie said...

Sounds like a funtime. I've never been on a safari of any kind.

Belle said...

What fun! I love places like this. The drool would really gross me out. Yuck.

Lois Christensen said...

So glad you didn't have to drive your own car! Could you imagine the spit all over the car? We did this once when I was around 13 with friends of mine. AND it was for my girlfriend's birthday. We all slept over and her parents took us to Great Adventure in NJ and we did the safari thing FIRST. Halfway through, her father's car broke down and we had to wait forever with the animals for someone to come and tow us and then wait forever for my father to come and get me and my sister. It was so hysterical as a teenager. Your pictures are GREAT!!! I've been to Pine Mountain, but we didn't do the safari. We did the water park and it was so much fun.

Anonymous said...

There's one about an hour from me, in Great Adventure. I haven't been through it in years...I think it's mostly safari type animals, like monkeys. You can't feed them.

deb said...

What a great place!! Looks like all had a grand time!
*hugs*deb

Remington said...

WOWZERS! That would be a fun place to go! Thanks for sharing!

Eat To Live said...

I bet you about pooped your pants when that window went all the way down. LOL.... I know I have tried to get our window to go just a little down and every time it takes off and rolls the whole way down.

Lynn said...

That sounds fun except for the cow drool. :)

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I can just hear you screaming! LOL...I would love to do this with Tiger when He is a tiny bit older! Hugs, Linda

Anonymous said...

That safari seem very nice, to get so close to the animals...cool. Yeah, I knew about the camels...that they spit. Was a bit wary when walking pass them in Egypt. And they smell ungodly. Great photos, and I too like that duck ^_^. I like the quote at the end [about the dog] it's brilliant!
Have a fantastic Day! Big hugs
Eva

Marie said...

I've never experienced cow slobber, but I take your word for it. These pics are wonderful! So glad this is a family adventure that you all can enjoy together. Thanks for sharing. :)
Hope you have a great week Sandie!

jp@A Green Ridge said...

I love going through those places even if I don't have the grandkids!...:)JP

Savannah Granny said...

Oh, it looks like you had so much fun. I haven't been to the Pine Mountain area in eons. I used to go to Callaway Gardens a lot when I grew up in Atlana.
The Georgia attire looks great to me. So glad you brought the slobber rags.
Love the thought of the day.
Hugs, to you, Ginger

Unknown said...

YES! I have been to one of those places, such fun! Thanks for the info about the olives and spice!!

Susan said...

Hi Sandie...That looks like a blast. I think I remember the last time you went! Thanks for sharing again. Great photos! Good job! Susan

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Sounds like a fun time for your family! I bet Andy had a blast! But, Sandie, I had to laugh about the cow slobbers. We farm girls (or ex-farm girls) know all about cow slobbers! Love the quote!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love your Churchill quote above, I'm going to copy it. We have the EXACT same animal safari!!! Or so it seems. They are a mile long. But they let you drive through in your own car, I would be scared in an open vehicle!!!! YOU AND ME BOTH on the ostriches, I was way scared of them, they look mean and crazy, too!! A llama vomited all over DIL's head!! I LOVE the second picture of Disco and your grandson!!! Those two are the cutest things in the whole safari!

Betty said...

That does look like fun, but I probably wouldn't go on a cold day with those opened windows! I'm a wimp.

Liz Mays said...

I'd have to sit in the middle seat and just watch and laugh. I don't think I could let them touch me!

Ann said...

That does sound like a lot of fun but we don't have anything like that around here. I can't imagine taking Duke though, I'm sure he would be going nuts with the barking at all those animals.

Unknown said...

This sounds wonderful! I wish here in Wisconsin we would have a safari!
Looks like you had a wonderful time :)

Bev said...

What fun!... I would of screamed too!...Love your thought for the day!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

I'm glad they at least keep the dangerous animals behind fences! Years ago, I went to a Sarfari place in Florida. It was okay, but I'm happier visiting them in a zoo.

BTW, you'll be happy to hear I got rid of the word verification. :)

Mevely317 said...

I'd love to go there sometime!
Wonder if the "outside" animals were wondering how in the heck Disco got "inside"?!
Great pictures :)

Nancy said...

Now that looks like a fun day and big adventure....I can tell your grandson is loving every minute.....

I love all your pictures of the animals....

Sharon said...

What a wonderful day!!

I love your pictures - GS and Disco are SO very photogenic!

And yes, I knew that camels spit. Don't ask me how I knew that - I just did.

Did you know that they also smoke? Yup, they're addicted to Camels...(bad, bad pun - sorry).

:)

Grandma Bonnie said...

Oh, my I just love animals. That had to be such fun. Your photos are great!!

Tanna said...

LOL! I love the how to handle stress like a dog quote. LOL!

Love that y'all do so many family outings, Sandie. I'm a big fan of spending good times together! blessings ~ tanna

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

The safari looks like a wonderful way to spend your day - especially if you have a grandchild around. I have some of those animals in my yard often, as I live across the street from a farm. Thankfully, there are no lions, tigers, or spitting camels, but we do get visits from sheep, cows, deer, and assorted small animals. Maybe I should charge a fee and give some tours. That could be my second career.

Angela said...

LOL! It's good to scream like a girl every once in awhile! lol I wish we had something like that around here. It looks and sounds like so much fun. I love that Disco! And I love Andy and Disco's outfits! So cute!

Hugs,
Angela

Sush said...

Sandie, what a fun outing for you all! I'm hoping to take Lily to experience a Carousel for the first time as soon as weather permits!
Hugs~

Tiffanee said...

Looks and sounds so fun! You cracked me up with the drool story!! What an adorable grandson!!

Love Of Quilts said...

That would be fun! Funny that you got caught off guard.I would have had a heart attack...good you just screamed. That beef stew sound good.

BlueShell said...

No, I've never been there...
It seems funny!
You had a great time, i guess...
Kisses
BS

Debbie said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I literally laughed out loud just now about the drooling cow. That's so funny to me. Chuckling again...

Your grandson is so cute to me. I love his smile. It draws me in.

I guess this is over on the west side of the state by The Little White House, is that right? I'm thinking that's where Pine Mountain is.

Unknown said...

Not into really sloppy kisses--huh?

Changes in the wind said...

What a fun time you all had...can't go wrong with animals that is for sure. Love the how to handle stress like a dog....

Starry Dawn said...

Good Morning, Sandie!!
Oh!! You truly impressed me with this post. I think this one is my favourite post of yours.
You see, I love animals so much!!
I love the Zoo. This Saffari looks really great, especially for your dear grandson who looks like enjoy visiting it so much. Disco, your grandson's puppy, looks very happy too. Animals could be our best friends, for they love us unconditionally. I think, I'll tell my companion, Dr. Paul, to take me to Georgia to visit this Saffari one day in the future.
Of course, we might settle down first, and buy a home and a good car somewhere...
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and your great taste with the world, Sandie!! Thank you also, for posting heartfelt comments in my blog!! You are a great Online friend. God may bless you all!!
Best Regards,
Poet Starry Dawn.

Clint said...

Looks like fun even if they wouldn't let me take my .30-.30

JUST KIDDING!

DaCraftyLady said...

how exciting I bet G-son had a ball. :)

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I haven't been to one like that where you actually drive the van.
Sounds like a fun trip!

Kerrie said...

What a wonderful family day trip, that's the sort of stuff we love to do too! Love all your photos!!!