Today was our first full day in San Diego, CA. Still not adjusted to the time zone change, everyone woke up at different hours. Falling asleep early last night (despite the Bill visit), my internal alarm clock woke me up early. One of the only people awake, it was upsetting to watch Molly depart for home due to personal reasons. She hasn’t even been gone long and we still miss her…
After everyone was awake, showered, dressed, and relieved of their zombie states from travel yesterday, we decided to see the world famous San Diego Zoo. Due to the nice weather, we walked to the park. On the way we stopped to visit a beautiful garden filled with blooming flowers and wildlife. We spent about half an hour snapping pictures of multicolored roses, twisted cacti, and darting lizards.

Arriving at the zoo around noon, we spent over four hours gawking at the animals. Amongst our favorites were the orangutans, zebras, and black panther. The funniest event of the day was when Brian was sitting by the glass to view the orangutans, and the large orangutan trotted up to the glass, sat next to him, placed his hands on the glass, and stared out at Brian. The group agreed that the orangutan might have seen some resemblance in facial hair… The moving escalator at the exit was also a cool feature of the zoo. After leaving the zoo, we went to dinner at a small Italian restaurant located close to the Outreach Center. The food was delicious!! All of us devoured our food after the long day at the zoo.
We met back at the Outreach Center at 7:00pm. When we arrived, the center was open and kids were entering, eating, and hanging out. We had a short training session with Bill preparing us for the days ahead. We talked about the Outreach Center, how we can help out, what to expect, and things to look out for. Between training in Philadelphia, talking with Bill, staying in the Outreach Center, and finally meeting the kids, I was anxious to participate in outreach and help out in any way possible.

After the center closed we settled down to play board games and chat. While some people were exhausted and set up their bed space, a group of us played Sorry and the Game of Life. Soon after it was time for bed with anticipation for the days to come…