You'll Need a Clunker for this Outing...

This is a long over due post from an outing I went on in July with Wyatt, my SIL Erica, her two boys Carter & Jack, and my mom, Didi. 

I took them to the Harmony Park Safari which is a wild life refuge located on about 30 acres near New Hope. I had heard about it through a friend and had been with J and Wy on a previous occasion. Basically, you stay in your car, drive on the path they have created, and feed corn to the animals that you see. Windows are to remain up unless you are throwing out food (corn) and then they should only be lowered about 6 inches. You also sign a release at the entrance that releases the Park from any liability for damage to self or property. They remind you these are wild animals, blah, blah, blah.

The "wild" animals consist of emus, deer, goats, rams, sheep, llamas, ducks, geese, turkeys, buffalo, bison, one zebra, one evil pony, and one large camel. They also have alligators and crocodiles in a penned in area and another separate area where you can get out and feed turtles.

It is important to share my previous experience at the Animal Safari for comparison reasons. When J, W, and I went, it was obviously field trip day as there were several school buses and vans filled with little children from a daycare going through ahead of us. Now these animals have learned a thing or two by living at the Safari. Thing One: The bigger the automobile, the more food you will get. Thing Two: will be shared later.

The animals were gathered around the vans and buses and they really didn't come over to us in the beginning. The camel literally had his head inside the school bus going from window to window to eat corn out of the hands of screaming children. So much for not lowering the windows. We followed behind and watched and had the occasional emu come up for some food. You are allowed to circle the main field as many times as you want so we went around a couple of times and eventually the "cool" animals like the zebra and camel came over to check us out. Wy loved the experience as he was free to roam the vehicle and throw food to animals. Here is the best pic from that first trip.

Yes, that would be my sunroof that the camel is sticking his head through.

OK, so we had a fun experience and I wanted to immediately tell all my friends with children about it. I knew that Erica and her boys would enjoy it so we scheduled a time to go with my mom so we could all ride together in her van. I volunteered to drive Didi's van since I had already been through it once and knew the ropes.

So we get there and we are the only ones there! So that is just the coolest, right? We have the whole place to ourselves and I confidently explain to the employee at the gate that this isn't my first time at the park and I got all the rules down pat. Doors closed, windows up, drive slow, and don't sue them - got it, piece of cake.

As we drive in, the animals are alerted that someone has finally come to feed them. We get maybe 10 feet into the wooded area, which is not even the fun part, and our car is surrounded by hungry emus and deer. Windows go down, emu heads come in, and children scream and duck for cover. I panic, punch the gas, and allegedly hit an emu which my SIL finds hysterically funny. Didi throws out tons of corn to keep them busy as I keep the van at a slow going pace to get through the initial swarm.

Now, have I mentioned how excited I am for my nephews to see the "cool" animals? Because I just know they are going to think I am the coolest aunt for taking them to this park. So we finally get to the field and here they come - right on cue. The zebra, pony, and camel aren't shy and immediately try to figure out how they can get in the van with us. Now my SIL and I tend to "scream" a little when we get excited and children don't always understand the difference between a "this is so fun" scream and a "this is a scary situation" scream. One child, that will remain unnamed, decides maybe this isn't such a fun place after all since all we are doing is screaming which must mean the animals are trying to hurt us. I hear the unnamed announce "I don't like the Animal Safari" and he moves to the back of the van. So we have one unhappy camper and two others diligently rolling down the windows faster than I can control them and watch where I am going. I now allegedly run into the zebra which sends my SIL into fits of laughter and more screaming.

I quickly realize it isn't so cool after all to be the only ones there. There is such a thing as too much animal attention at the Animal Safari. All I can think about is how long it is going to take us to get through this park since we are literally unable to proceed at times since there are so many animals in the way. So I decide that the fun is over - no more windows down and no more food. That should make them go away, right? And here is where "Thing Two" comes into play. Apparently the evil pony decides he hasn't gotten his fill of the corn and he proceeds to KICK the side of my mother's van to get our attention. Window comes down, corn goes out, and more screaming occurs. My mom is unfazed by the kicking and shrugs it off. All I can think of is how fortunate it was for the pony that he didn't throw his fit the day that J was with us b/c I know J would have gotten out of the truck and killed the pony. Seriously.

Unfortunately for my mom's van, it gets a second dose of kicking from the psycho pony before we can escape. My mom, in addition to being hot for 60, is totally cool about the damage. Which is a good thing because I signed her rights away at the entrance. So, as alluded to earlier, "Thing Two" is: repeatedly kick the automobile if you are not being fed.

Now for some pictures and video clips...


My cutie pie nephews Jack & Carter


Wy still talks about the Emus


E feeding the Zebra


Meet the Evil Pony


Didi and the boys feeding the turtles


Erica and her boys







DISCLAIMER: Parts of this story may have been exaggerated to increase reader satisfaction. There were no animals harmed in the making of this story.