I love vacations!  I love spending time with my family.  I love going new places, seeing new things and being surprised by new experiences.  I love learning new things.  So this year's excursion was to Williamsburg, VA and Baltimore, MD.  We try to make the travel part of the adventure so before we even arrived in Williamsburg, we made a few stops.  OK, we're also not afraid to try the  dangerously kitsch.   So our first stop was Clyde Peeling's Reptiland.  (No, not "Reptile Land".  One word.  "Reptiland"  Sounds way more legitimate that way.)  Yes, one of those places you see advertised on bill boards hours before you actually arrive then see after you've passed it saying "If you turn around now!  Reptiland is only 10 minutes in the other direction!". 

So without further ado...


I was pleasantly surprised at how modern and clean the facilities were and how expertly the animals we presented.  It's not a large zoo but the niche they have developed for themselves they do very well.   They had the expected large alligators and tortoises but also had one building of smaller reptiles including snake neck turtles (look exactly like you would expect and, quite frankly, a little bizarre), all manner of pit vipers and poisonous dart frog (pretty but deadly).  They also had the prerequisite "touch the animals" show:


"Hmmmm. Feels like a handbag." 
(Just kidding, of course, DD#1 would never say that.  Just my humor.)



DD#2 and I in the butterfly house. 





And who doesn't like taking pictures of butterflies? They're colorful and usually stay put long enough to frame a nice shot.



And here's a true rarity.  The one and only picture on vacation with all of us in it. 

Next stop Land of Little Horses in Gettysburg, PA.  What can I say?  It was unrelentingly kitsch and there were little horses.  The kids though it was great fun and the counting horse was impressive.  And who doesn't love an animal show that features dogs pulling chow wagons, trained pigs, a "unicorn" (yes, I said unicorn) and a disco ball?



Here is one of the little horses.  Clearly DD#2 is a bit startled by the feeling of horse lips. 



Which one is the real plastic oversized prospector????



I took this picture because DearSon's hair was exactly the same shade as the sheep's wool.  (Here's a quesion.  Why exactly were the 3 small sheep behind 7 foot high chain link fencing?) 

On to Williamsburg in the next post.