One last stop at Animal Kingdom and then a long journey home December 29th

On Saturday morning we got up, finished putting the last minute items in the car, ate breakfast, did our final run through of the condo, and then headed for Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had been thinking all week that as a way to get some energy out before the long ride home, we would go for the morning. Since we had really liked Animal Kingdom and it was quick to get in and out of, we went there. Since we were not able to do the Safari on Tuesday, John immediately headed to the Africa section of the park to get some fast passes. The girls and I meandered over to Dino Land, looking at some of the animal exhibits on the way and one of the shops. John made his way back over to meet us in Dino Land and we all got in line for the fling Triceratops (Emily called them the rhinoceroses). We were in luck that early that the line took only a few minutes. That seemed to be one of Emily's favorites from the other day and she seemed to love it again. In addition, Ansley and Bailey seemed to have a blast. Since the line was so short, we rode one more time. After that, we ventured back to the Dino play ground, specifically the digging area with the little rocks. Emily again, though that was the best thing ever!!! After leaving Dino land we headed to the Africa section since our time was approaching to use our fast passes. On our way, we happened to see the Calypso band again. By the time we made it over to the Safari, the little ones were to tired, so Emily and I got in the fast pass lane. I have to say, it was one of the neatest rides ever. You board this large jeep type vehicle and a driven through Disney's safari area that they have set up to look like the African outback. It took about 15 minutes and while on the safari, the animal are just roaming around you. Emily was amazed, as was I, and she had me taking a picture of every animal she saw. The first group we saw were the Rhinos, birds, and Hippos. The Hippos were in the water and our guide/driver said they were able to stay under water for up to 5 minutes. Next were the Nile crocodiles. They were kind of down in a moat type area since the driver said they were noted to be even more aggressive that the American crocodile and got upwards of 20 feet long. Next we moved on the the plains type area where we say a variety of antelopes and other similar animals, giraffes, elephants, zebra, and much more. We then made our way around past the flamingos, saw ostrich eggs, and then several more elephants with their babies. Once we pulled back in the loading station, Emily and I got out, tried to see the gorillas and then met up with John and the girls. Emily mentioned she was hungry so we headed towards the Mickey area to get her something to eat. On the way out of the Africa section, we got to see the African dancers. It was a group of about 8 guys and they were doing various African dance and acrobatic tricks. One of the acrobatics was truly amazing. This one guy did a hand stand balancing on another guys hands that were over his head. After the show, we got some lunch, went through a few shops, and headed for the car. Unfortunately, we had no idea what kind of traffic we were going to face on the way home that started not long after leaving the park. After a few hours, we had only made it to 80 miles south of Jacksonville where we made our first stop at a McDonald's/gas station. We took a break, got a snack, and then walked over to the fruit stand next door, since John was dying to get some oranges. Very surprising since I never see him eat fruit =) He samples a couple and decided on the Red Navel Orange. A special type from that area, that was really quite good. The 1/4 bushel was the smallest size, so after buying it, we loaded back up and headed back to I95. We again hit a lot of traffic with numerous slow downs (that never seemed to be explained at the end of them). Around 7 we stopped again, at around Brunswick GA at a Sub Way/gas station. There were picnic benches out side, so John took the girls to one of the benches while I got our food. After eating, changing the girls into jamies, and filling up the car, we were off. We overall made better time with only about one more slow down and a little rain. The little ones went to sleep after while. At around 10, John was ready to switch drivers, so we stopped at Balentine SC and quickly switched. Unfortunately, Emily was not able to get comfortable in her seat so it was a long last hour or so for her until we made it home at 11:15 pm.