31 May 2012

Natural Bridge and Safari

We have had an amazing past few days. Matt is such a sweetheart and he took off a couple of days so we could celebrate our anniversary right. Monday, our actual anniversary, was low key. Exchanged gifts and went out to dinner. We decided to do paper as a traditional gift along with something else. We both ended up giving the other the same paper present which was a letter in a bottle. I thought that was sweet. Tuesday we headed out to Natural Bridge, VA and all the excitement began.

We said we'd leave around 9:00 am but of course that meant we got on the road around 10:30. It was a good thing we did leave late because we found out once we got there that we weren't able to check into our room until four and it was only two o'clock. It was so hot out and Natalie was in such a bad mood. Luckily the package we booked with the hotel included tickets to a butterfly garden, toy museum and wax museum right around the corner. All of the exhibits were very disappointing. After we visited them we still had an hour to kill, so we went on a little drive. Natalie took a huge dump so we pulled over into a parking lot. I tried changing her diaper in the car like I did so many other times before but poo got everywhere. It was awful. Right after that we went back to the hotel and asked if our room was ready. It was about 3:30. Thankfully it was ready. We got settled and Natalie took a nap. After she woke up we decided to go out to see the natural bridge. It was beautiful. Then we got caught in a huge rain storm. There was a shuttle that went from the bridge to the gift shop located right across the street from the hotel. The shuttle driver was so nice though and since we had a baby he dropped us off right in front of the hotel. Then we had some wine, went to dinner and ventured back out to see the bridge for a "light show" at night.

This was Natalie's first over night trip and we planned everything per usual. I would wake up with her during the night to feed her as needed. Well, after feeding her at 4:40 am I closed my eyes. Then I swear I heard whispering in the room. I was freaked out. I absolutely could not go back to sleep after that. I stayed awake trying to calm myself but had no luck. Then I heard a scratching under my pillow. Of course my first thought was that Natalie was scratching the bed in her sleep like she sometimes does. Still, it really scared me and I wasn't convinced it was her. I think these paranoid thoughts were the result of my husband telling me the hotel was haunted. He was joking, but I'm a huge wuss when it comes to things like that. I finally fell asleep around 6:00. Then at 6:30 Natalie woke up screaming. It was definitely a gasy belly. There really wasn't much I could do. I thought changing her diaper would help comfort her but when I took it off she started to pee. It got all over before I could get a new one down. She was wide awake after that but Matt eventually rocked her to sleep in her car seat then she slept til about ten. 

In the morning we went back to natural bridge for a last look. After that we drove 20 minutes down the road to a safari park. There we paid admission and bought buckets of food for the animals. Then drove through the park with tons of animals to feed, including but not limited to: deer, elk, emu, ostrich, buffalo, zebra, and camels. It was incredible. After we did that we went and hand fed a giraffe. If I'd known this place existed sooner we could have saved a lot of money on our trip to Florida a couple years ago.

 It was a really crazy, overwhelming but a fun and special trip. I'm so glad we got to experience all we did. I know we'll be back.
Matt and Natalie in front of our hotel



Freshly hatched butterflies


The exhibit was pretty much nothing but creepy ass dolls



It was dark inside and my flash was broken but you really aren't missing out on much with these pictures.


Natural Bridge

I really don't know how to pose without holding a baby.

Family shot

Keeping E.T. baby dry from the rain.






Check out those different colored eyes


We're in this pic somewhere!






All the animals attacking one family





Mean camels

Camels spilled that all over me then ate it outta my lap

The animals weren't the only hungry ones







Bye, bye wonderful time.

11 Thoughts :

Jazz June 1, 2012 at 8:34 AM  

Oh it looks so gorgeous there! Sorry some of the exhibits weren't so good, I have to admit some of those dolls are a tad creepy. What's with that shiny one behind Natalie with its legs hanging off? Weird.
Love the pictures of the three of you! (I didn't actually notice the giraffe on the last one and then was like woah crap I did not see you there, ha nice new member of the family you have!)
And ewwww how much mess does that camel want to make!? Jeesh animals are so rude. When I was like 5 this goat just tore the bag of food out my hand and gulped it down in one. I have never been near a goat since.
Looks like you had a great time! & loving Natalie's eyes, amaaaazing. xxx

Stephanie June 1, 2012 at 8:35 AM  

I love that you three took a vacation together for your anniversary. The whispering and scratching in the hotel room are creeping me out though!! What the hell was it? I'm sorry some of the places weren't all they cracked up to be, but the animals look like a lot of fun!

Shannon June 1, 2012 at 9:03 AM  

Aaaah - I love the pictures. Natalie seems unimpressed by the animals.

Does she really have two different colored eyes? Insane.

And I know this makes me immature, but I totally laughed when you said "Natalie took a huge dump." The word dump gets me every time. Hee hee!

Krista June 1, 2012 at 10:39 AM  

Ha! What a trip, gotta love all those bodily fluids (and solids) :) Babies sure make life more interesting. Glad you had a good time despite a few bummers. The natural bridge looks beautiful!

Melanie June 1, 2012 at 1:38 PM  

I loved reading about your wonderful anniverary trip! It sounds like it was really special. The photos were so nice!

On a side note - I had to deal with an on-the-side-of-the-road poop debacle with Landon about a month ago. O-M-G it was not fun (plus it was raining outside at the time haha). I feel what you went through! :)

Ali June 2, 2012 at 12:48 AM  

So hilarious (but not at all!) that our recent vacations started out the same! We took a trip last weekend and just before getting to our hotel Presley pooped and we stopped to change it at a gas station and then she peed EVERY where. On me. On her. On the wipes. On the changing pad. Ah! And she was screaming like I was killing her! Not the best way to begin a trip because I am the biggest jerk when it comes to messes! But so happy it all worked out in the end :)

Len A. June 2, 2012 at 7:00 AM  

Great post and amazing shots! :) Makes me wanna go!


Just followed you on Google Friend Connect. Hope I get a follow back. Thank you! :)

www.themommist.blogspot.com

Jessica June 2, 2012 at 8:02 PM  

Hi, I haven't stopped by in a while. Your blog looks great! Thanks for sharing all the sweet pics!

Jessica
http://jessica-healthymommyhealthybaby.blogspot.com/

Ali June 2, 2012 at 10:38 PM  

Ps, a little odd... But the place we stayed at in st Louis last weekend was on Natural Bridge Road! How weird!!!

Life Happens June 4, 2012 at 10:03 AM  

I've been wanting to go there. How was the hotel that you stayed in? Was it reasonable? Any good tips for making this trip with Matthew and my niece? I'm thinking later this summer we can go there. Who knows.

The pictures look great. Matthew would love to little safari ride. :)

Sean Marie June 4, 2012 at 4:56 PM  

I encourage everyone I know to go out there and visit! The hotel was pretty reasonable. $89 dollars for a room. We upgraded to a room with a mountain view though so ours was $99 dollars plus tax. The safari park was $15 for admission per adult, children three and under were free. It was so cool, you guys should definitely go!