Wild in Bush Gardens

Screaming at the top of my lungs, as my heart falls 200 feet before my body catches up to it...!! no, it is not our plane crashing, it is Uday and I living life to the fullest at Bush Gardens!! The roller coaster ride "Sheikra" was the most thrilling!!! Here we are at Bush Gardens in Tampa, Florida, instead of in India...

Uday and I were going back and forth last weekend debating about if we should try and go to India a few days later than planned, despite the unrest and terrorist attacks in Mumbai, or cancel it all together. We had decided to cancel the trip all together and instead of sitting around during the long Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to make the best of it and go to Bush Gardens. This is one of the last big theme parks in South Florida that we hadn't visited. Soon enough, we were on our 4 hour drive towards the west coast of Florida. We slept over in an inexpensive hotel that gave a free hot breakfast buffet the next morning.

We were able to spend a day and a half at the Park. It seems to take about two days to see everything at this park because it is so huge. Uday and I really enjoyed Bush Gardens because it was part zoo and part amusement park with our new favorite ride "Sheikra". It is famous for it's 200 feet, verticle drop!!! We went on it twice and really enjoyed it both times.

The first roller coaster we went on was an old one and it was so shaky with so much whip-lash that I thought my brains were going to fall out of my head. It hurt my head so much that I could not concentrate on the ride. I definately don't recommend this ride and Uday also hated it!

There were a few other good roller coasters at Bush Gardens and we both also enjoyed watching the animals at Bush Gardens. We took a train ride around the park to see many of the animals and also went on a ride called, "Rhino Rally" that was like a small safari. This little jeep safari was awesome with surprising effects and views. We could not take too many pictures as we were in motion but I was able to get a few shots of the animals from a distance as we continued to move on.











Bush Gardens has a variety of birds and animals as well to enjoy. We were able to get up close to some of them and get some good pictures...














































They also had a few shows at Bush Gardens and in a day and a half we only had time to see one show. The show we saw was called "Katonga" and had some cool dances and costumes.

We were very glad that we ended up going to Bush Gardens especially when we decided not to visit India at this time.

Bush Gardens was a fun short break and we are looking forward for our next longer vacation and to see where our next destination leads us! Ahhh it is good to be alive!

Click on the picture below to see more pictures of our time in Bush Gardens.