2021 California vacation, part 3

 On Sunday, we drove down to Ventura Harbor, not too far from Joshua's family's home. We walked around on the boardwalk and went to the nearby beach. We shopped in some of the shops there too, and Mallory got a necklace with an oyster to open and insert the pearl into the pendant. It was neat to open!

Rebekah and Mallory were pirates...

Mallory and Bethany were surfing...

We enjoyed watching this blue heron for a bit... it was not phased that we were nearby. After we walked away, we saw it flying along the harbor--- cool!

We posed by this Ventura Harbor sign before and after we walked around... it was nice to see all of the boats, flowers and sit in the grass.

At Ventura beach, we loved the roar of the waves and walking in the water, so relaxing...

Joshua was building drip castles with the wet sand like he used to do with his sisters...

Then we drove down to Santa Barbara. The girls wanted to see where the TV show "Psych" was filmed, but I had to sadly inform them that it was actually filmed in Canada. This scene was definitely in the show, though. We liked the beach and driving through the town with all of its white stuccoed buildings.

Santa Barbara beach, getting our feet wet...

We loved all of the HUGE palm trees in Santa Barbara too!

The following day, we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. It was not too big, and we enjoyed it a lot!

These gibbons were fun to watch, they had quite a course that they could climb through and hang on. 

The flamingoes were so pretty! We liked seeing them stand on one leg.

There were a lot of Humboldt Penguins, and they had tags on them with their names. We liked watching them swim so sleekly!

The girls LOVED seeing the fennec fox, especially Bethany! They were so cute sleeping in the warm afternoon.

The lions were so big and mighty, but not very active. His name is Ralph.

The tortoises were slow-moving, of course. Some of them very over 20 years old!

We really enjoyed the giraffes. They had been fed lettuce leaves right before we got there, so we missed being able to feed them. This very tall male is named Michael. 

The giraffes going back to find more food to eat. They were neat to watch walk around. Mallory took A LOT more pictures, but I can't share them all here.

We enjoyed our 2nd Air Bnb, it was small but just right for the five of us for a few days. It had a nice backyard, with a lemon tree in it! It was very tempting to pick one!

The family room and part of the kitchen...

The main bedroom with the back door to the yard...

Joshua eating his dinner outside at the table. We sat out there several times and chatted. We had groceries delivered and made some great salads! Daddy also bought us Krispy Kreme, which we don't have in our town anymore. Yum!

The next day we went to Magic Mountain... that will be on the next and final post about our vacation!

Have you been to any California zoos? Which one was your favorite?

Psalm 34:10
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Daniel 6:27
He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.