Canada, Oh Canada

One of our favorite places to visit during the summer is Parc Safari in Hemmingford, Canada. It is a small zoo that has a drive through safari where you can pet and feed the animals. There is also a small playground and water park that is perfect for younger kids.

We went opening weekend, but the safari was closed because of the flooding. We ended up buying season tickets. We knew we wanted to go back early in the season to beat the crowds and weekdays are always better than weekends.

We planned to go on Thursday, but Gideon took leave Thursday and Friday. I carefully watched the weather and decided that Friday would be better as there was a high chance of rain Thursday. I planned everything, organized everything we needed to take, and scheduled when we would leave.

All was going well, other than the alternate directions taking us more out of the way than we expected, until we crossed the border and saw a sign saying “Happy Canada Day.” For those of you who don’t know, Canada Day is Canada’s Independence Day.

I knew then that the park was going to be very crowded, but we were 2 hours into a 2.5 hour drive. There was no way we were going to turn around at that point. So we told Hadley that it was going to be busy and emphasized the importance of her staying close to us and holding hands.

We considered going through the Safari as soon as we got there, but there was already a long line of cars going in. Instead we went to the Deer Trail, which was also closed our first trip this season. The Dear Trail area had been expanded and 24 baby deer had been born this year. Hadley was a little timid with the deer, but Malia was intrigued and kept calling the deer “dog.”

After walking through the Deer Trail, we had perfect timing to get the first elephant ride of the day. Hadley was cautious at first, but she quickly warmed up to the idea of riding the elephant with Daddy. And while Malia didn’t get to ride the elephant she was as fearless as ever when it came to petting it.

After our picnic lunch, we decided to brave the Safari. It took over an hour to get to the animals and the first ones we reached were not interested in being fed as they were full from everyone else feeding them throughout the day.

As we got further in, the animals were more interested in the food. Even though we went last year, we had just as much fun this year. Being able to feed a yak, reindeer and other exotic animals doesn’t ever really get old.

Waiting to get closer to the animals in the Safari

Eating the animals' carrots

She was hanging out the window like a puppy

He was drooling all over me

Fearless as ever

Next we headed to the water park to cool down. We all changed into our swimsuits and headed for the water. Malia was tired, so she didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected. And Hadley’s enjoyment diminished after we went down a water slide where I fell and dunked her under the water.

Malia needed a nap, so I changed her, in the process of which she peed on me. Hadley and Gideon played in the water for a little longer while Malia and I headed to the car for a nap.

After leaving the Parc, we headed toward the border. Canada Day wasn’t done interfering with my plans yet as it took us over an hour to go the quarter of a mile necessary to cross the border. Malia and I ended up walking alongside the car to minimize the meltdowns and the inevitable screaming that we knew was going to happen on our 2 hour drive home.

Walking beside the car to the border

Keeping each other entertained

Looking back over the day, it seems like more things went wrong than right, but we had a great time and are all looking forward to going back one or two more times this season.