San Diego Safari Park- 2019

On our first day in San Diego, we visited the San Diego Zoo, and on our second day, we visited the San Diego Safari Park. We were able to use our newly purchased annual passes twice, once for each location, which are sister zoological parks.

In case you didn’t read my previous post, we only managed to use them twice, since shortly after our visit we left California for Colorado, otherwise they were valid 365 days of the year. A great deal!

I had visited the zoo all throughout my childhood, many times, but this was only my second time visiting the Safari Park. Technically, I visited it when I was a very young child, but I don’t remember visiting. Absolutely nothing about it recalled any memories, so I’m counting this as a first time visit.

The park is sprawling and meant to mimic a more natural environment, rather than a traditional zoo. The E-ticket attraction is an open air safari ride that goes through an African savannah type of terrain.

Our first animals, were of course, the flamingos. We visited shortly before Halloween, hence the skeleton flamingo.

One of my favorite parts of the Safari Park was the “Walkabout Australia” section. it was a huge open area with kangaroos and wallabies, in which you could actually pet the animals. Visitors needed to stay on a wooden trail, but if the marsupials hop over to you, you are allowed to give them a pet.

Naturally, they sensed my desperation and excitement to touch them and stayed far away from me. I was only able to observe them, but I still found this section of the park to be delightful. I could have easily spent the whole day here. The Australia section had fun theming and cool rock work.

The Safari Park has a beautiful botanical garden. We were basically alone, which made it feel peaceful and remote, as we enjoyed the crazy cactus and unusual plants.

Fortunately, we did not encounter any snakes. Dan would have left the park immediately, whether or not the snake was wild or behind glass. He’s very Indiana Jones on this topic.

An assortment of animals that we saw in the park.

They may be the fastest land mammals, but I also learned that cheetahs are shy and anxious felines. The cheetah at the Safari Park has an emotional support dog. It looked like a Labrador. We didn’t see the dog in the exhibit, but apparently they are the best of friends. The Safari Park also has daily demonstrations to show how fast the cheetah can run.

One of my favorite things in Orlando is the Kilamajaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which is very similar to the tram experience at the San Diego Safari Park. The Disney version is more polished and immersive, but they are similar in the respect that both give a semblance of a safari on the African savannah. I’ve not yet been to Africa, so this is the best I have for now. It’s on the bucket list!

After our trip to the savannah, we refreshed ourselves with the most bizarre theme-park food concoction = Craft Beer Float. We were curious, so we bought one to share. Sharing was more than we needed. root beer floats are delicious, Coke floats are delicious….beer floats are gross.

And a few more fun pictures to end my review.

I throughly enjoyed our day at the San Diego Safari Park and I’d look forward to returning in the future. It’s beautifully laid out and themed, but even more important, the San Diego Zoological Association has an excellent reputation for animal care.

Book Review- Alexandra Kleeman's Something New Under the Sun

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Alexandra Kleeman’s novel, Something New Under the Sun, in exchange for an honest review.

Patrick Hamlin is thrilled and beyond flattered to learn that his novel will be turned into a major Hollywood movie. His ego is further stroked when he is invited to be a production assistant. Patrick’s dreams are soon crushed, when he realizes that he is a glorified water boy and that his screenplay bears little resemblance to his novel.

Still dazzled by the idea that this could be his Hollywood “In” Patrick sticks around and becomes a chauffeur for the leading lady, Cassidy Carter. Cassidy Carter is a former child star and notorious party girl. She is trying to break-free from her association with the character that made her famous, a teen detective. This hit show not only propelled her to stardom, but inspired a cult-like following that believes that the show was riddled with hidden messages that affect the real world.

While people are focused on conspiracies and Hollywood, a real life and death scandal is unfolding on the west coast. Severe droughts have created a situation where a synthetic water product called “Wat-r” has replaced much of the real water. The product is insidious, and only the very wealthy are able to access authentic water. Cassidy even negotiates to be paid in real water for her role.

Wat-R has been linked to cognitive decline in certain individuals, affecting people of all ages and races. This situation has been shrouded in secrecy with the affected being whisked away to private hospitals, but the more popular that Wat-R becomes, the more people are being affected, and the problem is increasingly more difficult to hide. Patrick and Cassidy begin to suspect that the producers of their film are involved in a nefarious Wat-R scheme and they become amateur sleuths, not unlike Cassidy’s former character.

Something New Under the Sun is an anxiety producing read. It deals with some true fears of mine, including extreme drought, harmful substances, and general environmental woes. I finished Kleeman’s novel this morning and the first news story I read was about a dire climate change report. Something New Under the Sun takes place in a near-future and it is not unreasonable to think that some of the fictional results from this story could be a reality.

I’m originally from Los Angeles, it’s always going to be my home. Kleeman did an excellent job with her descriptions of the city and the landscape, including the Palm Desert area. She also does a fabulous job at creating the characters that populate a movie set, those opportunistic loafers who are just waiting for their own big break. It’s an interesting contrast to have a story regarding the doom of humanity set against the Hollywood movie scene.

Although I found the premise and the characters to be intriguing, I struggled to connect with the story, especially during the last third. Possibly my connecting block came from the sheer volume of anxiety I felt thinking about my beloved hometown devolving into a wasteland. It’s a bleak novel. Also, I think the end took such a strange and surreal twist that I wanted off the ride. My mind was wandering and I found myself skimming the last thirty or so pages.

Book Review: Deborah Copaken's Ladyparts

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Deborah Copaken’s memoir, Ladyparts, in exchange for an honest review.

Writer and photojournalist Deborah Copaken’s Ladyparts, begins over a decade after her first memoir, Shutterbabe, which detailed her early career as a war photographer in Afghanistan. In Ladyparts, Copaken chronicles her separation from her husband, Paul Kogan, and the subsequent stress, health, and financial issues that followed.

I can’t remember the last time that I read a memoir that made me feel every single emotion. All of the feels. Mostly, I felt anxiety and rage towards Copaken’s struggles. To be clear, Copaken is not seeking pity, but Ladyparts serves to shed a light on the inequalities in our society, especially those that women face.

When she sought divorce from her husband, she was left with the bills and childcare, while he restarted his life in California. This situation, along with job loss and health problems, such as a cancer diagnosis, caused extreme instability in Copaken’s life. She saw her savings dwindle to the point where she had to put off having critical surgeries or even reconsider taking not just an ambulance, but a cab, to the hospital during a health emergency. Copaken offers many statistics that show not only a severely flawed US health system, but specifically where the health system fails women. It made my blood boil.

She gives startling examples of how women’s health is simply not given research funds, and how many gynecologist are not trained to help post menopausal women. It’s terrifying and makes me livid. I have a family history of gynecological cancers in my family, and now I am the same age as both my mom and aunt when they had endometrial cancer. I’m constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. I felt very triggered and anxious when reading these sections of Ladyparts, especially as I’ve also been in Copaken’s position of not having health insurance. It’s terrifying and I don’t take it for granted now that I have it.

Copaken is so brave and honest. She gives a raw account of her medical situation, including a very graphic retelling of massive blood clots that expelled from her body after a complication from surgery. A complication that she was never briefed could happen, therefore making it even more serious and scary. At one point, she is explaining this at a dinner party and a friend cautions her to keep the details private, as it is not proper. Copaken refuses to be silent or tone down her story. I want to commend and thank her for sharing the details. It is important for women to be heard, especially in situations like these, where her story could help save lives.

My anxiety peaked when Copaken detailed her various problems at different companies. It was a reminder that freelancing (which I’m currently doing) is uncertain, and that the changes in technology and work culture have devalued the contributions of writers. Also, the idea that being middle-aged can be viewed as a liability or another reason to be devalued, made me feel ill. I worked for the same company for nearly fifteen years and it took me a long time to realize that there is little loyalty and no such thing as job security. I was raised by a mom who essentially worked for the same company her entire career and preached the gospel of finding a place and staying loyal, but that is simply not the way the world works now and Copaken’s experiences highlight this new way of doing things.

The #Metoo movement looms large in the last chapters of Ladyparts, as Copaken’s private life goes viral when she outs Ken Kurson, a major editor and friend of Donald Trump, for harassment, stalking, and derailing her career. The details are shocking, but ultimately this story breaking is a huge win.

Speaking of wins, one of the most poignant and beautiful moments comes towards the end, when Copaken encourages her son to “break the rules” and join her on their apartment rooftop to view Fourth of July fireworks bursting over the New York skyline. It’s an intimate moment between a mother and her son. Copaken reflects on time and makes an affecting comment on how our bodies are borrowed, and how we don’t know how much time we have in them, so we should live to the fullest. This resonated with me.

Ladyparts might be one of the most important, perspective changing writing that I have ever encountered. It certainly wasn’t an easy read, as I had to brace myself for the emotions every time I picked it up, but I absolutely recommend it to everyone. Copaken writes without mercy and is a force. Also, Copaken’s friendship and advice from Nora Ephron is fantastic.