On Saturday (6.21.08), after a lunch at the Beachcomber, Travis and I decided to visit one of Florida's smaller, and much closer to home, theme parks, Busch Gardens Africa.

Travis bought his ticket online and after encountering problems with our printer, and thus printing out said ticket, I waited to purchase mine at one of the self service kiosks at the front gate.

We opted for the Annual Passport considering it was only $99 and a single-day ticket runs something to the tune of $65. Plus, as with many of the Disney annual tickets, parking is included.

We had watched the radar throughout the morning and early afternoon and figured we would encounter rain at the park. That turned out to be more than true.

Still, it was fun exploring something new for a change. Or at least "new" in the sense that I hadn't visited the park during regular operating hours for 22 years.

Jungala, the newly opened animal exhibit area, provides lots of up close viewing areas and interactive exhibits. Of course there's the coasters of which we rode none due to Travis' stitches. (Long story. E-mail or PM him.)

Generally we just wandered the park watching the animals and checking out the shops, restaurants, and exhibits. We spent a bit checking out some of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.

Later in the evening we stopped in the Hospitality House where they provide all guests 21 and up with two free Busch product "samples" per day. Sample is a bit misleading as they're actually close to full sized beers. I'd say about 8 oz or so. I only tried one, billed as an "American Wheat" ale, not being a huge fan of beer in general.

I wasn't able to snap many pictures due to the weather but look forward to visiting the park throughout the year.