TENNESSEE VALLEY FAIR | 2016

This year was my very first year going to the Tennessee Valley Fair and I have to say it was so much fun! I haven't been to a fair since I was maybe 16, so I was definitely due for a trip to a fair. The Tennessee Valley Fair was in Knoxville, only about a 30 minute drive from my house. My mom and I left straight after I got off of work, and since we went on the opening day, we were able to get in for only $1. When we arrived, we pet and took pictures with all the cows, geese, bunnies, and sheep. It was so hot my mom and I got cups of free iced water that we drank in the shade and then we both shared a box of popcorn. After riding many rides, one of which I almost passed out on it went so fast, we sat down by the lake to pet and feed the ducks. One even hopped into my lap! They were the cutest things. Afterwards, we rode more rides and then later that night we went out to eat as the fair food was a little pricey and had not many vegan options. The day was long, yet fun, and I will be looking forward to going again next year! Check out the vlog on my YouTube channel to see the day in action!

OAK TREE VILLAGE

As you may know, my sister Kuyuki has just moved to Tennessee, and I am missing her terribly. Just now, I was looking through photos of us on my laptop and I came across this set of images that I have never shared on the blog. For Kuyuki's 15th birthday this year in May, we took her to Oak Tree Village in Oak Glen to visit their petting zoo. She loves llamas and we heard that they had some so we headed over there to spend some time with them.

It wasn't a very big place, but it was interesting since we've never been there before. It had cute little shops, a bakery, kittens running around everywhere, pony rides for kids, and of course, animals in the petting zoo. For $1, we were able to feed the pigs, chickens, goats, and llamas little pellets that looked like corn. When Kuyuki first saw the llamas, she was so happy she started crying! We took many pictures with them while dodging their spit and avoiding the goats. We loved them, don't get us wrong, but they liked to eat our clothes. One goat started chewing on my cardigan and one ripped our friend Missy's new dress. One thing that I thought was really cool was squirrels were coming up to us eating from our hands! We've never had that happen before. It was really cute and we loved how relaxed they were around us.

For lunch, we ate at a restaurant there called Apple Annie's. I got the veggie burger without the sauce and wrapped in lettuce. And I have never been to a restaurant before that does this, but they let you get seconds on any meal for free. So of course I could not pass up free food! I was the only one who ordered seconds, and ended up regretting it because I was so full from the first burger already. I managed to eat half of it, but I gave the rest to Kuyuki.

That was a fun day and I cannot wait to see her again so we can create more memories and have more fun together. Enjoy these images!

West Coast Game Safari Park | BANDON, OR

Today was probably one of my favorite outings in Oregon. My brother, sister, step-mother, father, and I drove to Bandon, about a 30 minute trip from Gold Beach, to visit the West Coast Game Safari Park. It's like a little zoo, but my favorite part is that all the animals are out of an enclosure (except the bears, tigers, monkeys, and a few more critters). Right when we arrived, there were deers there to greet us and a few moments later, a group of goats came to say hello. I instantly fell in love with this place. I don't like zoos because you look at an animal, maybe take a few pictures then go to the next animal, and maybe see a show every now and then. But what I like about this safari park is that you get to feed, hold, and interact with the animals. 

After making our way past the deer and goats, we found an apricot skunk that we were able to hold. Next we got to hold a opossum, which was pretty big and kind of heavy, and then held a white ferret afterwards. After my siblings and I took turns passing the animals around, we waited in line to play with a baby tiger. The tiger was pretty lively. He even had little cat toys to play with! When it was our turn, my brother, sister, and I got on the floor and started petting him and when I reached down to touch him, the tiger rolled on his back, grabbed my hand, put it in his mouth and started gnawing on it! Luckily it didn't hurt. 

We only had about 3 minutes with the baby tiger, so when our time was up, we walked around to see what else we could see. We noticed most people were holding sugar cones with food pellets inside. We wondered what that was all about until we realized it was food for the animals. Each cone was 50 cents, and after we purchased ours, that's when the deer came running to us. It's like they have a radar that knows who has the food. We fed the deer and goats, and all of a sudden, out of no where, a huge llama comes walking behind us! It startled us at first. We tried to pet him but he wouldn't stop walking as if he had some place he needed to be. Some rams got a little carried away throughout the day. My sister ran out of food, so they came over to me, hit me with their horns to get my attention, and when they saw I didn't have food either, they went back to my sister and cornered her. She had to block them with her bag. They really like that food! 

We saw some tigers, bears and monkeys, but they were all kept in enclosures, so we were only able to take a few snaps, say hello, and observe them a bit. My favorite animal that was there were the donkeys. I think I spent about two hours with just one of them. This donkey never left my side and fell asleep on me a couple of times while I was petting him. We totally had a connection.