Worthy

I left off one particular thing we did while in Marble Falls, because I felt it was so awesome it was worthy of an entire blog post. We went to the Exotic Resort Zoo in Johnson City (just 20 minutes outside MF) and had quite an encounter with the animals. I've never been to anything quite like this before. We rode in a trailer pulled by a tractor through the property filled with animals. In the past, I've been to exotic reserves where you drive your own car through, but this was MUCH more intense and up close. Here's just a small peek into all the action....
Jake stayed in my dad's arms nearly the entire ride. I'm not sure what he thought about all the animals...

You were able to hand feed all animals, but they warned to only let the ostriches eat directly out of the bucket...The camels were probably the most intense. Because they are so tall, they could easily stick their heads right into the trailer, and they really liked the treats we had...
This guy was definitely not shy. Does anyone else think it's crazy we were this close to a camel, or is just me?I've been known to willingly tell embarrasing stories about myself. I'm not so sure why I do this other than I think it's good to be able to laugh at yourself. Well, now is one of those times when I'm going to "tell" on myself. I was actually scared at the beginning of the tour. Logically, my brain was telling me, "It's OK, these animals aren't going to hurt you," but I was finding it hard to listen to logic. When we first went inside the gates the animals literally swarmed the trailer, and I admit, I was freaked out. After about 10 minutes in, I did calm down and toughen up, but not before I was throwing the food away from the trailer trying to get the animals away. Anyway, in time I gained courage and was able to actually hand feed some of them, but not before some honest moments of terror. Here's the terror caught on film...As I said, I'm not sure what Jake really thought of everything. I'm sure it was pretty overwhelming for him(obviously Mommy thought so). Fortunately, he had several loving shoulders to nestle his head on. Thanks, Grandmama for keeping me safe from the crazy animals... These are just some of the animals we got to see up close and personal...

Check out this tongue!They also had a nice petting zoo (as if I didn't already feel close enough to the animals from the trailer ride). We felt like Jake already had enough excitement for the day, so we decided to stay on the other side of the fence to take a look. It was still fun to see the looks Jake gave ....

Thanks again, Grandmama and Papa for a great trip! We hope you had a wonderful birthday, Papa.