Up Close and Personal at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 1 – Kangaroos and Lunch

Let the Retirement Adventures Begin!!! My first Travel Post!!

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and Gulf Shores

For more pictures and some videos about the kangaroos, scroll down thru a few scenery shots of the Gulf Shores area and the kangaroo story will resume.

This week we traveled to Alabama for a wedding – BY CAR. This is extremely unusual for us, as in all my husband’s employment years, we had to fly to any faraway destinations, as he could only get a very limited time off work at any given time. But now that we are retired each trip is full of choices – how to get there, how long to stay, what to see on the way there, and what to see on the way home. It’s very exciting to have so many choices.

Saturday was a close friend’s wedding in Birmingham Alabama, so we headed to Alabama on Thursday morning so that we would get there in time to help decorate for the rehearsal dinner on Friday and the reception on Saturday. What followed was a wonderful two days of wedding activities and a beautiful wedding. I am planning to do a whole post on the wedding, so I will just share here that it was wonderful!!!

After the wedding, since we didn’t have to hurry back for job responsibilities, we headed to Gulf Shores. Gulf Shores is a Beach Vacation destination, that I had not heard of until about 10 years ago, and at that time we started hearing wonderful things about the area. Since Birmingham is only about 4 hours from Gulf Shores, we decided that this would be the perfect time to check it out.

Orange Beach

Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we could tell we weren’t at “home” any more, as the colors of houses and even hotels, were either pastels, or bright Easter egg type colors – so pretty and cheerful!!! Our hotel was the Hilton Garden Inn in Orange Beach.

I think my husband looks like he’s enjoying this retirement thing!

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and Their “Animal Adventures”

For our first full day in Gulf Shores, we decided to check out the Alabama Gulf Coast zoo. We had read that they offer three different Animal Adventures that are “up close and personal”. We liked the idea of being able to touch and closely observe some of the animals. Each adventure was for a small group of people (usually about 4) and was scheduled to last about 15 minutes. Each adventure cost an additional 24.95 over the cost of admission. We decided to do the Kangaroo adventure and also the Lemur adventure, so we scheduled them as soon as we were in the park. Later we added the Sloth Adventure as well. For more on these adventures, check out Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo Animal Adventures.

Animal Adventure with the Red Kangaroos including Kangaroo Photos and Comments from the Kangaroos (we think this is what they would say)

We arrived early to our scheduled “Kangaroo Adventure” and were extra happy to find we were the only guests in the group. Two guests with two kangaroos is the best ratio we could have hoped for. Our zoo keeper in the Kangaroo area was “Riley”. He introduced us to Strawberry, their female Red Kangaroo, and to Kiwi, their male Red Kangaroo. Both are 18 months old. These kangaroos are not related and the zoo staff is hoping they will become a “couple. We were allowed to interact with the kangaroos and to pet them. I’ve always wanted to pet a kangaroo but never thought I would be able to, so this was definitely “bucket list” stuff!

Meet Strawberry, Kiwi, and Kangaroo Keeper – Riley below. Quotes below, are what I imagine Kiwi and Strawberry were saying.

“Time out to scratch my itch”.

“Yeah, that’s the spot”

“I’m soft, aren’t I?”

“Riley is the best! and you never know what you will find in his pockets!”

“I do a lot of squinting because I don’t see very well, but don’t feel sorry for me, because I have superior hearing, plus I am one of the best “hoppers” in the animal kingdom, and when I’m full grown (at about 8′ standing), and have perfected my kicking ability, no one in Australia is a match for me!”

“Hopping is fun… and I’m a “forward thinker” – I always go in a forward direction – no going backwards for me.”

“Salt Lick anyone?”

“They give me different things for “Enrichment”.

“It’s very important to taste EVERYTHING!”

“And to check things out – up close!”

“It’s always nice to have some new people to meet, and new shoes to investigate.”

“Shoelaces are my favorite snack”

“Kangaroo Kibble is the best!”

Our Impression of the Kangaroo Animal Adventure

As you can likely tell from the photos and videos above, we thoroughly enjoyed our kangaroo animal adventure and our wonderful guide! The difference between seeing a kangaroo from a distance or up close and personal, is amazing. I remember seeing kangaroos hop across the field as a child, from a distance, and today, seeing them hope close up, was incredibly different – and spectacular!!!

Recommendations

If you ever get a chance to do an Animal Adventure at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, we highly recommend it.

We believe our experience turned out to be “extra amazing” because of the following things:

1. Our visit was in the off season (November), and on a Monday, and on a very empty day at the zoo. We are guessing the overall attendance at the zoo today was about 30. This resulted in our animal adventures having only my husband and I as guests.
2. Being a November fall day, the weather in the morning especially, was cool and comfortable and the animals were more active than usual due to the cool weather.
3. We arrived at the zoo a half hour early and after paying park admission, we went directly to the ticket booth to sign up for the animal adventures. We did the earliest adventure we could get for the kangaroos and also for the Lemurs, for the sloths we chose a later time as they often are asleep regardless of the time of day.
4. We arrived early at each animal adventure, so as not to miss a minute of our time, and also to get some observation time ahead of the adventure.

Lunch – a Delicious Surprise

Surprisingly, our hotel front desk, recommended the Safari Club Restaurant – at the zoo, (and also accessible for non-zoo guests) whether or not we were going to the zoo, as it is an amazing fine dining/chef owned restaurant. It had actually moved from another location, to the zoo location. We had a wonderful lunch there in the middle of our zoo visit, and enjoyed the atmosphere, and delicious foods, and wonderful staff. I had the best restaurant hamburger and onion rings I have ever had, and my husband enjoyed his meal immensely also. The menu options included both fine dining items, vegetarian items and items for even the most hard to please child diner (which was definitely me as a child). Their slogan is “Proudly Serving Herbivores, Omnivores and Carnivores”. The variety of menu items available was immense.

(update: at this time the restaurant is showing as temporarily closed. We are hoping this is only a short term situation, as it was truly a wonderful place. You may want to check the restaurant website before planning your zoo agenda.)

Coming Soon –

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – part 2 post

The Animal Adventures at the zoo were such fun, that I have decided to separate them into at least 2 posts. Please check back in a week or two, to read about the Lemur animal adventure, and about the Sloth animal adventure!

Gulf Shores Vacation – Visiting the (free!) Foley Railroad Museum and Model Train Layout, Lunch at The Gift Horse Restaurant, and a Bonus Shopping Stop

Another day in the area was spend in Foley, Alabama. It was a wonderful day of sight seeing, trains, shops, and a delicious lunch! I will be posting about Foley Alabama in a few weeks.

Other Posts I Hope You Will Enjoy

If you enjoyed this animal post, I hope you will enjoy the following:

Woodland Critters Come to our Autumn Tablescape

and …

Whimsical Water Animals Tablescape Celebrates Summer at the Seashore

and …

Hummingbird Tablescape for Fall and Spring

and …

Two fun Tablescapes for My Puppy’s 1st Birthday – one for Our People Friends and One for Our Dog Friends!!

and last but not least…

A Flamboyance of Flamingos – From Florida – Fly in for our Featured Feast

Link Parties

I often participate in Tablescape Thursday at betweennapsontheporch.net Please click on the link to see this website from one of my favorite bloggers – I especially love her “Tablescape Thursday posts” which are all about tablescapes. Her tablescape post is followed by photos and links for many other wonderful tablescapes.  Her “Metamorphosis Monday” posts, which are all about “Befores and Afters” – is another favorite of mine. 

I also often participate in Marty’s “Inspire me Tuesday” link party at “A Stroll Thru life” I hope you can check out her website and her Tuesday link party which is followed by photos and links with many other ideas from her followers.

Recently I started following Katherinescorner.com. I frequently join her TFT blog party. The TFT – Thursday Favorite Things – blog hop contains links on many topics with lots of great ideas. To get there click on the preceding link and go to her website and they check out her most recent Thursday – TFT post. At the bottom of the post, you will find many of her followers’ ideas. 

On October 4, 2023 I saw that my Butterfly Tablescape was featured on the You’re the Star Blog Hop at Eclectic Red Barn. Thanks to Beverly at Eclectic Red Barn and also to the October 4th hosts Angie @ God’s Growing Garden and Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures.

I have also started following SouthernSunflowers.com and recently joined their “Home Matters Link Party”. It begins each week on Thursdays. On October 12, 2023 I was honored that Kristie featured my Barbie tablescape. I hope you can check it out.

Recently, I started following KarinsKottage.com, and I am loving her blog as well, and can’t wait to see her Italian Castle remodel! I often participate in her Linky Party on Wednesdays .  I am so excited to report that Karin featured both my Dancing Skeleton Tablescape, and my Bicycling Bride and Groom Bicycling Skeleton Tablescape on her Link Party on Halloween 2023!! Thanks so much Karin!!! You can see her Halloween Linky Party here, by clicking on the following – Halloween Linky Party.

I also enjoy following Life and Linda. I have been checking out Linda’s wonderful tablescapes for years! If you are currently planning your Christmas tablescape, I think you will enjoy visiting Linda’s Christmas Tablescapes. Recently Linda featured my Dancing Skeleton Tablescape on her Link Party, which I really appreciate – Thanks so much Linda!!

I have also started following EclecticRedBarn.com and am loving the “Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop”.

On Sundays, I share on the Life as a Leo Wife “Happiness is Homemade” Link Party. I was so excited to see that that Nikki featured my Dancing Skeletons Tablescape in her Happiness is Homemade party # 503. Such an honor to be featured!! Thanks so much Nikki!

This year, for my first time, I have joined the “Home Imagined Link Party” at Masterpiecesofmylife.com. I love this website, and the hostesses and other contributors have some great ideas! To get to the home page, use the above link and then scroll down to “Home Imagined Link Party” and click on it to get to the Link Party page. A new link party is posted every other week. 

I have also shared recently on EsmeSalon.com. The following link, Senior Salon Pit Stop will get you to the link party on Esme’s site as well as getting you to some great recipes and other ideas!

This week, I joined the Saturday Sparks Party at Suzanne’s Pieced Pastimes Blogspot. I hope you can check it out.

On Fridays I join the Crazy Little Lovebirds link party. I am honored that Stephanie chose to feature my Barbie “Eras” Tablescape on Friday October 13, 2023. I am also honored that Stephanie chose to feature my “Romantic Lakeside Dinner at Sunset” tablescape post. To see the this week’s link party click – Crazy Little Lovebirds. I hope you can visit this website.

This week I checked out this wonderful post on the Roentare.zenfolio blog and I love the photography as well as the scenery photographed. I joined their linky party while I was there. I hope you can visit this website too!

Recently, I also linked to the very interesting – Life Tales Books Blogspot, I hope you can visit it as well.

I hope you will enjoy visiting these wonderful bloggers on the above websites as much as I do!

Comments

As always, I would love to hear your comments! Are you an animal person also? I would love it if you would comment about any of your favorite animal adventures! Now that we are “retired” we are really looking forward to traveling and would love your suggestions on places to go and things to see. (To leave a comment, scroll all the way down to the very bottom of this post.) Also, this is my very first “Travel Post” and I would love to hear any suggestions you have of anything you would have liked to see in this post, or the ones to come. Thank you so much for stopping by “Life is Better Lakeside”!! I hope you can stop by again to see our home, our decorations and our adventures, and to share some of your own!”

Wishing You Many Wonderful Adventures and Celebrations!!!