One of the neatest things I saw at the San Diego Zoo wasn’t even on display there!

I am a planner.  Before I visit a place, I’m the one who checks Trip Advisor, does numerous web searches for “fun things to do while visiting _____”, checks admission times, prices, etc.  In short, I want to make the most out of a trip.   There’s nothing wrong with this and because I am a planner and a researcher, I’ve gotten to see some incredible things that I most likely wouldn’t have stumbled upon otherwise.

However, some of my favorite moments from a vacation are often the spontaneous, unplanned events.  While going through the San Diego Zoo on our recent family vacation, we happened upon a mother duck with her ducklings who was visiting the warthog enclose and letting her babies have a swim.   We also got to see the natural maternal instinct in full force when one of the young warthogs wandered over to take a sniff at the ducklings.  Mama duck got her feathers riled then and pecked her beak at the young warthog, probably twice her size.  She got him to move away quickly, though!  It was a wonderful moment and one that I think we will always remember.  You can’t plan things like that! 🙂

You never know what you might find while you’re looking for something else!  Be open to the possibilities and let yourself be surprised!