The Knotwell Family Blog

When I was a young boy growing up in San Diego, this was one of my favorite places to visit. I loved going in the "tram" around the park to see the animals "close up." Many of our friends have asked where to go when they go to San Diego. I always recommend this over the zoo. It's been many years since I was last at the Wild Animal Park and I was very disappointed. The park has not been as well maintained as I remembered and the kids were pretty bored most of the day. I did capture some great shots of the animals... and, for the record, I would go back again, if for no other reason than to see the animals in a more natural state.





The elephants have and always will be my favorite animal. Elephants gather together in large groups, often 5-20 animals at a time. The Matriarch leads the group and is the most experienced female animal in the group. Elephants often protect their youngest members by surrounding them and guarding them against predators, in their world, it takes a village to raise a child. When Elephants die, they mourn their dead, often burying them with branches, dirt or any other debris they can find. They will linger in the area for several days.

This will be the last post about our trip to California Adventure. Our whole purpose for going there was to make our way to Ariel's Grotto. The restaurant offers dinner with the princesses. Since most of the princesses can't be found regularly in any of the parks, you have to book a reservation here and enjoy dinner while they walk by and interact with the kids, sign autographs and pose for pictures. Of course, since Ariel is the host, you get your first shot with her as you walk in the door.

Then came Belle, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella and Jasmine. I think Charlotte like her experience with Jasmine the most because Jasmine commented on her shoes and talked with her the most. When I was sorting through the pictures, Char kept saying, "go to my shoes, daddy." She wanted to see her friend Jasmine!

On Halloween, Emily's sister Regan came over. It was a good time to see her and have Emily spend some time with her. Regan is the cutest little thing. She couldn't stop eating her candy. Sorry for her mom and dad, because she was probably going to be up all night!



My favorite picture from the evening.

I'll admit it, I've never been a big fan of Halloween. Jill is sick of hearing me say "it's a pagen holiday." But, since becoming a daddy, I can appreciate the fun time that our kids have experiencing the fun of dressing up and gathering sugary treats from around the neighborhood. The past two years Jill's mom has put together a Halloween party for the kids. They LOVE it. And, they get to wear that costume a little bit more, making the "price per wear" go down, so I'm a fan. I really enjoyed watching the kids play the games and of course, someobody brought sugar cookies for decorating - needless to say, I was in... I think I made 5, but lost count after 2 (intentionally).