It was our "Animal Kingdom" day and we got there at around 10:30. After getting a stroller, we bee-lined to the Kilamajaro Safari for a Fast Pass. The safari jeep ride is everyone's favorite thing at Animal Kingdom, so you can expect to wait in a long, long line unless you use the Fast Pass. Once we had ours, we had some time before we needed to return for our time so we enjoyed wandering around, soaking up the sights and the atmosphere. The details in Animal Kingdom are wonderful. In the Africa and Asia areas, the old villages, crumbling ruins, lush foliage, and mysterious temples are so fun to wander through.
At one point we saw something so cool! A vine was moving, slowly and gracefully. It emerged from some vegetation - a lady on stilts (legs and arms), covered in leaves, camoflaged perfectly until she moved. We watched her in amazement until she disappeared back into the jungle.
Ava also got her face painted while we waited for the safari, and had her picture taken with Baloo and King Louie from "Jungle Book". King Louie didn't know how to use a pen, but Baloo signed Ava's autograph book.
We had a good time on the safari. I always tell Ava she has a "hunter's eye, like Gaffer", and she takes great pride in seeing things before I do. So she was very excited to sit next to the open-air side of the safari vehicle and yelled out when she spotted something. The jeep took us through an African savannah, with beautiful grasslands and freely roaming animals. A giraffe was almost close enough to touch as we bumped by. Several crocodiles were lounging in a murky pond near the road, near Ava's side of the jeep, and Ava turned to me with wide eyes: "Are they real?" When I told her they were, she dropped off her seat onto the floor and covered her head with her hands!
Luckily, we left the crocodiles behind quickly, and she enjoyed the rest of the trip pointing out the rhinos, wildebeest, zebras and elephants. 
After the safari, we went back over to Asia and Gaffer took Ava on the Kali River Rapids raft ride. She says now that it was fun, but at the time when they met up with me afterwards she was wet and grumpy, and said she didn't like it. I had been waiting for them and watching some funny black & white Colobus monkeys - a little one trying relentlessly to get a bigger one to play and wrestle with him. The bigger monkey was being very patient and every once in a while would indulge in a little rolling around with the little guy, but then he'd get back to lounging around in the sun and put up with some more pestering. Their house looked like the ruins of an old temple, with bamboo staging all around it - lots of fun for monkeys to clamber around in.
Gradually, I noticed John. There was Brenda and John! And Gaffer and Ava! They were all talking together (without me!!) a little way down one of the pathways.
So I hustled over and we got to have a few minutes of visiting and catching up, but then they were headed over to Expedition Everest, and we were heading out of the park - Ava was tired, so we wanted to get her back to the cabin for some R&R and then maybe come back to the Animal Kingdom in the afternoon. We would see each other tomorrow.
As we made our way to the park exit, Miss Ava fell asleep. Gaffer bought me a "Lost on Safari" cocktail at one of the little bars in the park - a mix of Captain Morgan, Bacardi, and "Pangani Punch" - it was delicious! We began walking slowly, sipping beverages, and just taking in this beautiful day. It was about 75 degrees and sunny; one of those heart-exploding loving-life kind of days. We made our way over to the Tree of Life to have a close-up look at the animal carvings.
Disney World is a crowded place, no question about it. There are lines for just about everything, people walking fast, people walking slow, kids darting around, a cacophony of noise - it's all part of the experience. But what never ceases to amaze us, and it's part of the Disney magic, is that in spite of all the crowds and noise, it's possible to have a unique and solitary experience while you're there. You turn a corner and, all of a sudden... nobody.
This happened to us at the Tree of Life. We found ourselves on a beautiful trail, surrounded by fragrant flowers and tropical birds. Time stood still for us for a moment. Ava was sleeping, we were happy and relaxed and able to hear the sounds of the running water and the different calls of the birds - it was paradise.
There are 325 different animals carved on the 50-story tree, and it was great fun to try to spot them. We had a good time as we slowly walked back to the exit. Gaffer slung Ava over his shoulder for the ride back to Ft. Wilderness, and she stayed asleep all the way to the cabin. We tucked her into bed, and enjoyed the quiet afternoon sitting out on the porch, reading the newspaper and talking, until it began to be overcast, and then to rain. What began as a gentle shower turned into a heavy torrent, and we were glad we hadn't made any plans to do anything. We cooked up a couple of frozen pizzas and hunkered down in the cabin, playing Pollys with Ava and reading.
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