The Beauty of an Adventurous Heart

All I can say about this past week is that it has been incredible. To start off, I decided on my project that I will be working on during the rest of my stay. I will be updating the Emergency Preparedness Manual. I will have a staff member who will mentor me on the project. My mentor's name is Kimba. She is the Animal Care Specialist here at the center. She is an awesome person who has an incredible passion not only for animals, but also the safety of the staff and volunteers and the center. We have our first meeting tomorrow and I am so excited to begin working on this manual.

Last Monday, was one of the interns last night at the center. So we had to go on a crazy adventure. We decided that the best thing to do would be a night hike up to Potato Chip Rock. Kimba and another staff member named William joined us. We all met at the main office and caravaned to the trail head. It was still light on the walk up. We reached the top in about an hour and got to watch the sunset. It was so beautiful and magnificent. We took photos on the rock and ate chocolate kisses. The walk down was in the dark, but we were prepared with head lamps and flashlights. It was a great time of bonding and laughter.

The view

Cali sunset

sunset selfie

beautiful

Caitlin and I

Jump shot

The next day, I went on a field trip to a bird sanctuary with three other interns and Kimba. We learned how to properly handle large raptors. We handled a Great Horned Owl, who was actually quite feisty and like to have a raptor glove in its mouth. Holding the owl in my hand, I realized how heavy they are and the strength it take for them to fly. Kimba showed us various ways to properly handle and how to avoid getting injured.

Kimba  (blonde) instructing
Alicia how to properly handle

Kimba passing the owl to me

The owl wouldnt let go of the brown glove

Successful handling

That evening, we drove Caitlin down to San Diego to her hotel. We had dinner at a nice restaurant and filled our bellies. We said our goodbyes to Caitlin and head back to the center.

The group!!
(Left):Caitlin and Vanessa
(Right): Alicia, Rachel, and Emily

Downtown San Diego

Night Life

On Friday, I went to the Wild Animal Safari Park with two other interns. It is like a regular only there is a safari you can go on. You get to go on a tram and see various wildlife species together like you would in the wild. On the safari we saw giraffes, rhinos, gazelle, wildebeests, zebras, and other African species.
After the safari we went and looked at the other exhibits. We saw tigers, bats, elephants, lemurs, and other species. We got a rare experience. We got to see a cheetah run at full speed. The park has a 100m straight grass track that the cheetah runs. It chases a toy on a lure, and gets a big bowl of meat after running. The cat ran so fast, and you could hear its feet pounding on the track.

comparing how big I am to a Gorilla

On the safari tram
(front to back): Me, Rachel, and Emily

wildebeest

Baby rhino and its mom

Baby Giraffe

Baby Rhino nursisng

Its a Caracal!!

Playtime

Jumping

Sleepy Lion

Elephant spraying water

I am taking the photo behind glass

This morning, Rachel and I went on a sunrise hike up to Potato Chip Rock. We left the intern house at 4:15am. We arrived at the trail head at 4:30am. It was dark when we started out and we used a flashlight for the first half of the hike. We started down in the valley and there was some good cloud cover. As we made our way up Mount Woodson we rose above the clouds and there was a clear sky. We eventually didnt need the flashlight. We made it to the top in 45mins. We sat on Potato Chip Rock alone and watched the sunrise. It was breath taking and one of the best moments i have has so far.

The start of the hike

Getting lighter

We made it!!

Sun is waking up

Sea of clouds

Painted sky

The sun is coming

Almost there

Good Morning!!

Later in the afternoon, Rachel and I went to La Jolla Cove. La Jolla Cove is a scuba diver and snorkelers heaven. We made the 50min drive from the center, and got to the cove just after noon. We lathered on sunscreen and made a dash for the water. The first initial touch of the water was so cold, but once I dove in it was quite warm. Rachel and I did some snorkeling and got the chance to do something amazing! We swam with Sea Lions. It was incredible to watch them dart under the water like torpedoes. Sometimes they would stop five feet below us and stare. I wonder what they were thinking. It was an incredible experience watching these animals in their natural habitat. They were free. Free to do what the wanted. Free to come and go. It is something I will never forget. On the way home, we stopped at In-N- Out Burger. The food was so good.

La Jolla Cove

Popular beach

Soaking up the sun!

The Ocean

Ocean Selfie

Beautiful day

First time at In-N-Out

This past week was filled with many adventures. Through these experiences I have discovered the beauty in having a heart for adventure. That beauty shall continue to grow.