Yesterday we went to Sunday am service in Temecula at Calvary Baptist Church. For lunch yesterday, we finally got to try the famous In-N-Out burger. The burger I had was very good. I really like the simplicity of the restaurant. Easy as 1-2-3. We are still kind of partial to our local Braum's burgers but these were a really close second. We attended Bible Baptist Church in National City for Sunday pm. My husband was in college with Carlos Serrano, who works on staff there, so it was a blessing to see him and his growing family.
Today, we decided to go to the zoo. We ate breakfast here at our hotel and then ended up getting to the zoo just as they opened. We wanted to maximize our time and the kids are awake and alert earlier here rather than later. The zoo is big so area residents had recommended taking the guided tour bus first and then decide a game plan to see what we wanted to see. That was a great suggestion. Parts of the zoo are on a hill so we decided to ride the bus to the tops of the hills and then walk down. That was a great idea! Our feet and leg muscles thank us right now. The zoo offers a photo option in several spots called storipass, so we decided to do that to have pictures with all 4 of us included. The ones below stamped San Diego Zoo are part of storipass. Animals that Joyanna especially wanted to see were elephants, pandas, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, and hippos. All of these were great experiences today. They were all active and you could see them clearly in their enclosures. We also saw polar bears and a cheetah very clearly. The hippo was particularly active. He would churn the water with his mouth and open up in true hippo fashion. I got the photo below that was pretty neat. Joy and Ethan loved seeing the animals so closely but also riding the bus. They were very ready for naps when we got back to the hotel. Tonight, we just walked across the street from the hotel complex to a Tony Roma's. It's a steakhouse we had never visited although there are locations nationwide. The food was so good! It was relaxing to just stay close and walk to and from the restaurant.
Make-A-Wish does such a good job of making it a wonderful experience. Maybe the wish part of the trip for Ben and I has been the opportunity get some meals we wouldn't normally get. We're sort of foodies so we enjoy trying new and specialty things and sometimes that's a little out of our normal budget. Besides taking care of all reservations (airplane, hotel, park tickets), Make-A-Wish also gives an expenses check for meals and other incidentals. It has allowed us to go some places to eat we wouldn't normally go. It's definitely been a treat!
Well, time to rest. Please pray we all get good rest because there's more tomorrow!