San Diego Elephant and Whale Adventure

The last few years my wife and I have taken valentine adventures. A previous trip included London. My wife’s favorite animal is an elephant so the plan was to take my wife to see the largest captive herd in the US at the San Diego Zoo. My bucket list includes diving with the whales but a whale watching boat ride made this a perfect addition. Our San Diego Elephant and Whale Adventure began.

Elephants

After our cross-country flight we found dinner and on to the hotel. The next morning started with a visit to the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is nestled in the city hills taking advantage of the terrain. We made our way across the zoo which included reptiles and birds and discovered a hippo pool at the base of a hill which made us stop and admire the mom and calf up close. We climbed the next hill and found ourselves in the panda area among the 3 black and white bundles of fur.

Next we rounded a corner and approached the elephant enclosure and my heart sank as there was no elephants to be seen. We continued by the enclosures and still nothing. Finally, in the other enclosure we saw the herd. We then spent the next hour or so watching as an elephant be checked in the area where the veterinarians can examine these giants in safety.

We next made our way over the hill top and arrived at the sky ride taking us back to the entrance making an end to the first day.

New Discovery

Day two was a down day at the hotel, but we found a great restaurant and a new dessert. My wife will have a post about the Havana Grill and cuban opera cake. I will only say that it was a necessary additional visit before return home.

Whales and Dolphins

The next day started with a whale watching tour with Hornblower Cruises. We saw 10 gray whales and a pod of 20 baby dolphins. It was a beautiful day and we followed one for an hour and almost to Mexican waters.

Our last full day we went to La Jolla on a seal watching. The seals were every where like buffalo in Yellowstone. During the afternoon we journeyed to the San Diego Safari Park which was a great ending to a wonderful trip.