Monday we caught up on washing and went for a swim in the afternoon. In the subdivision Doc lives in, there is a pool that can be used by residents. So we spent a good 3 or so hours playing in the water. We ended up chatting to a US soldier home on leave, and as usual, it was 'where are y'all from' that opened the conversation. I love the use of the word 'y'all'. I haven't had a chance to use it myself, but I'm sure I will. Tara FINALLY managed to get her head under water, after much coaxing. Then it was next to impossible to keep her head out of the water!! Hopefully when she resumes swimming lessons she won't fear going under water. If the stubborn little cow (yes, she is my daughter!!) refuses to put her head underwater at swimming I may just throw a hissy fit!!!
After swimming we had dinner at Docs place. BBQ chicken and prawns, although why people insist on calling them shrimp is beyond me. Bernie foolishly challenged George to a game of darts. Considering George competes in dart tournaments and Bernie doesn't.....well, lets just say the outcome was inevitable.
Tuesday was a day of shopping. Doc took Amy and I to some great shops. I added two pairs of killer heels to my collection, and we went to a shop called the Burlington Coat Company. Essentially, it's like a super warehouse of brand name clothes that stores have an excess of. We bought a few things and the total for 6 items of clothing, a packet of raspberry m&ms (yumm!!), 2 chocolate bars and 2 drinks came to just over $100. Bargain shopping! We then turned our attention to sneakers. Sneakers here are a damn sight cheaper than Australia! But alas, we couldn't find what we were looking for. We retuned to Docs for dinner of Italian sandwiches. Meat, cheese, bread....delicious!!!!
Today we went to Riverbank Zoo. When we got there, a lady gave us free passes for entry. So we gratefully accepted and saved $45. So much cheaper than the Adelaide Zoo and so much better!! We saw grizzly bears, gorillas and meerkats. The highlight would have to have been feeding the giraffes. Three very hungry and tame giraffes who not only stuck out their long tongues to take food, but also let you pat them. I love giraffes and it was awesome to be so close to them.
We also saw the kangaroos. We took the guide by surprise when she said 'y'all know where kangaroos come from?' And we replied 'home'. They weren't tame and just hopped around. The koala exhibit was one koala, but probably the most active one I've seen!!! But being a koala rescuer, I'm pretty confident I know what they feel like! I did refrain from correcting the guy who called them bears...we all know they are marsupials!!!
We fed the lorikeets and they were happy to perch on us while they sipped the nectar we had in a cup. Tara had a ride on a pony and loved it.
Adelaide Zoo needs to incorporate more interactive activities and things to do. Riverbanks has a carousel, pony rides, an awesome tree top climb and lots of other money generating activities that keeps entry prices down. The reason we don't take the kids to the zoo at home is the cost of getting in! Sure, food and drink are higher, but you expect that. We spent about $12 inside the zoo, not including food or gift shop, and there was so much more to do! A kids train ride, the climbing walk, the carousel.....and all things to keep kids & adults happy.
We're now back at the hotel just relaxing and giving Doc & co a break from us for the day!! Tomorrow we are going to the water park at Fort Jackson, so that should be a good day for the kids. We head off to New York on Tuesday with mixed emotions. Yes, NY will be cool, but we don't want to leave SC. And after a week in NY we head back to Adelaide. Contrary to the saying its nice to travel but there's no place like home, we feel at home right here. Going home will be something we all dread.....but we've decided we are DEFINITELY coming back!!!
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