294. I Fed a Giraffe for Joy’s Birthday and it's Now a Core Memory

SPEAKER_00: It is time that we live out the dreams and the desires that God has placed on our hearts, even if we don't know what that is quite yet. But I got you. We're in this together. So grab your drink, meet me on the back porch, and let's do this. SPEAKER_01: I'm driving home from the gym, and I just had to come on here and share what I did this weekend. Like it was a core memory that I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever times 12 forget. So my friend Joy, her birthday is October 6th. So the day of this recording, it's tomorrow. The day this episode comes out, it will have already passed. But we went to Fredericksburg, Texas this weekend with Joy, me, Callie, and then Joy's two sisters, Jen and Jeff, and her mom, Michelle. And let me tell you, Callie planned the whole dang thing. She ran things up by me, you know, see if I thought that it would be good, but really she just took the reins and she went with it. Like Joy had mentioned she really something, she really wanted something low-key for her birthday. And she was like, Well, why don't we go to the zoo? She loves animals, loves giraffes. And so then that got Callie thinking about the long neck manor in Fredericksburg. I personally had never heard of it before. Um, but I was so excited. And then she didn't even tell us what we were gonna be doing when we went to the long neck manor. So most of us didn't really dress like we should have, but it's okay, it's fine, it's not a big deal. It worked out great. But okay, so Friday we drove to Fredericksburg. We got there about one, we went to a winery, ate something, um, ate something, drank the had some wine flights, um, went, did a little bit of shopping, and then we checked in at Long Neck Manor at four o'clock. So when we got there, we met with the social media um hospitality um lady. Her name is Tish, and she was sharing information about Longneck Manor and told us, you know, where our room was. So what's really cool is Long Neck Manor only has four little casitas on the property, as well as a giraffe manor where you can actually book to stay above or inside above the giraffe barn, which is so cool. And then they have windows all along the edge of it, and so you're like face to face with giraffes. Um anyway, so we booked a two-bedroom, two-bathroom um room or house apartment casita thing. And um we had a king-size bed and two queen-size beds, so we all kind of bunked up together and it was great. But anyway, so she was showing us around the property, and we got to go downstairs into the giraffe bed pen. And as we were leaving, the owner, Rick, pulls up in a little golf cart buggy, and we got to meet him. So we introduced him and or introduced ourselves and um told him we were really excited, we were here for Joy's birthday, blah, blah, blah. It was literally 30, 60 seconds, not a big deal. And then we got on into our room. We had a glass of wine on the back porch, and y'all, I am not telling I'm not lying when I tell you that 10 feet from our back porch were three rhinos. We had Fred, Barney, and Justin. And they were the cutest things in the whole white world, and they were just happily munching, eating their hay right along the fence line, right where our room porch was, and we were talking to them and loving them. And then Callie goes, I think I'm gonna call Rick. I'm gonna see if he wants to eat some or have a glass of wine with us. And we're like, I were like, Okay, you go, Callie. Like, we're not gonna do that, but sounds good to me. And um, so she calls him. She's like, Hi, Rick, this is Callie Joy and Christie. We met you, you know, a couple hours ago for 30 seconds, and we're just wondering if you wanted to come to our porch and have a glass of wine. And at this point, like nobody else had checked in, it was just us. And he was like, Yeah, sure, I'll come over. Rick came and sat and chatted with us for, and the reason why we decided to contact Rick was because we were going through the material that is located inside our room. And so we were reading about all of the um nine different giraffes, we were learning about the three different um rhinos, we were learning about the sloth named Bruno, we were learning about all of the conservation organizations that Longneck Manor um uh donates to. We were learning about Rick and all the boards that he sits on, and then we learned that he was good friends with Jane Goodall for 30 years, and Jane Goodall had come to visit Longneck Manor 10 days before she passed away. And so, anyway, that's why Kelly was like, I'm gonna call him because like I feel we just we need to pick his brain because he is such a fascinating man. And so the very first, also the very first giraffe that was born at Long Neck Manor, they named Keely because when she was born, Rick was summoning Mount Kilimanjaro, so that's why they named her Keely. So she he travels all over the world, it does amazing things. Um, I think, I think if I remember correctly, he said his favorite country is Tanzania. But um, you know, he he's really big on conservation and he just wants to make sure that these animals are safe, they're healthy, and they continue to reproduce. And so he came, sat with us for an hour and a half, and not only were we picking his brain, but he was asking us questions. He was like genuinely interested in getting to know us as humans, and I thought that that was the true testament to his character as well. And so we chatted with him for a little while, and then the next day we got to do our um our little activity. And so, while yes, staying at the long neck manor can be pricey. Winter months are a little bit cheaper, obviously, as it gets warmer, they get get a little bit more expensive. But um, if you stay in the little casitas, you included in your price of your room, of your house is a two-hour experience. And in this two-hour experience, you get to pet the rhinos, you get to paint um their hide and get a painting of one of the rhinos. We got to um hang out with Barney for an hour. And um, one of the the um experts were chatting with us, telling us all about the rhinos, telling us all about um Barney. And Barney and Fred are half brothers and they're bonded. And so the entire time we were with Barney, Fred was laying down right next to the gate, looking so pathetic because he missed his brother and he just wanted to be a part of the fun. And it was so cute, it was so fun. So there were six of us, and like I said, we got to pet them and we learned about um what people are doing, you know, poaching-wise, as far as the rhinos and why they're so endangered. And all they're doing is getting the horn. And they think that, um, and a lot of it is, you know, um, old customs, you know, like the older world. And um, they think that the horn has healing properties. But what people don't know is that really it's just kind of the same, pretty much the same material as a fingernail. And so if you want those healing properties, bite your fingernails and leave the rhinos alone. Okay, girl, I want to tell you about something I have been diving into lately that I honestly wish that I had years ago. It's called VIM Vibes into Money. And before you roll your eyes and think, oh, great, another make money online course, hear me out. Because what I love about VIM is that it's not telling you to go and start seven different side hustles or become an entirely different person to make more money. 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Link is in my show notes. Vibes into money, make it, keep it, grow it. All right, girl, let's get back to today's conversation. Um, anyway, so we also learned that Barney, Justin, and Fred are all um about to um or just became in um like breeding age. And so they are currently building um another enclosure for or another, not enclosure because it's not an enclosure, but another space for the rhinos, and they're gonna introduce a female so that they can hopefully um reproduce and have more rhinos. And they are so gentle, they are mostly blind. So if you're coming up on the side of them, you don't want to come from behind um because they uh attack and then ask questions later. So you come up on the side, and when you're coming up on the side, you make sure that you are talking to them so that they know you're coming. And we were petting them and loving them, and they were, oh my gosh, so sweet, loved them so much. And then we got to go to the giraffes, and right before we left the rhinos to go to the giraffes, Rick shows up, and then Rick stayed with us for the rest of our tour. And so because we were with Rick, we got like extra, extra lettuce to feed the the um giraffes, and we got extra attention with the giraffes, and he was telling us what to do so we could get the best pictures, and but it wasn't about even about that. It was just to see the passion that these people had. Oh, and we even got to go into the staff office and break room, and so we got to look at their daily schedule and how organized they are and how knowledgeable they all are, and uh, it was just it was so cool. So we went and we there are nine giraffes. Um, I believe three or four of them have been born on property. Um, they just brought in about four or five months ago, maybe six months ago, a new intact male so that they can breed. And they think that Keely is pregnant. And so at the time of this recording, tomorrow, the day um day before this episode comes out, they are having a veterinarian come in and hopefully she is far enough along because I think she's about four months old, four months along that they'll be able to see something on the sonogram. Um their gestational period, oh, I don't want to, it's it's more than a year, 13, 14 months. Same thing with a rhino, I think it's 15 months. So they're long. Um their gestational periods are long. And so anyway, they've got nine um giraffes right now, and they're so beautiful. And there were three that you could really tell apart. Um, the different, well, actually, really it was four because there were two babies, one was six months old and one was seven months old. And one of the babies um has like a mosaic butterfly on her chest, so you know that that's Winnie, and then the other one is Archie. And then um, oh, what is his name? He's tall, dark, and handsome. Uh Joy and Callie are yelling at me through the phone while they're listening to this podcast episode on Wednesday. What is his name? It means worth dying for. Anyway, he was tall, dark, and handsome and he was beautiful. He's like a like a deeper chocolate brown. You know how like giraffes are more like an orangey color, like a cognac color. Well, he was a deep chocolate brown, um, and he was beautiful. And um learned about him, and males get calcium deposits like on their horns, so that when they're fighting, they have it's it's stronger and harder and and um makes them tougher. Um, anyway, so he was awesome. And then the new intact man, I don't remember his name either, but um hopefully they have Keely pregnant, and um they haul had one named Betty White, and Betty White painted for us, and that was really cool. Her name was Betty White because she was born on Betty White's birthday. And um, they had this like little seesaw thing where she would like touch her nose to it, and then attached to the other side of the seesaw thing was a paintbrush, and um, you put paint on it, and then she moved it with her nose and it painted the canvas, and then she would do like six or seven little nose touches, and then she would look for a treat to Armand who was our um uh I don't know his title, and I feel bad that I don't know his title, but I told you, like I don't have any paperwork in front of me. I'm just going based on what I remember and just how incredible this experience was. But he was the one that was giving us the tour and and helping us, you know, teach us all about the um the rhinos and the and the giraffes and the slop. And um anyway, so Betty White painted two painted paint paintings for us, and um, we got to feed them romaine lettuce and um lots of vegetables. They have a very healthy diet, and they were so sweet, and their tongues are so long, and like even if you take a step back, like their tongue just reaches to get the food, and they gave us kisses and we were petting them and loving them. Like, I didn't think that it was gonna get any better after the rhinos, and it did. It was amazing. I mean, their eyelashes are stunning, and they're just such sweet creatures. And anyway, getting to experience that with Rick too, and um, you know, he was like, Do as I say, not as I do, because I'm a younger and I can do it, I can make the rules, you know. Um, but yeah, they they take really good care of these animals. And so then our next stop was the sloths, his name's Bruno. Sloths are um solitary creatures, but they are going to soon introduce a female to hope hopefully that they'll repro he'll they will reproduce. Um, he was so stinking cute. We weren't allowed to touch him because he doesn't like to be touched, and obviously, you know, we are respecting the animals, and um, but we got to feed them, and that was so cool, and he was so cute. He was hanging upside down. So, like how our digestive system works best when we're standing up, their digestive system was created um to work best hanging upside down, which I thought was really, really neat. And then we got to meet Rick's dogs. Um and of course I'm blanking on their names Boone and Boone and Boone was the the the son and Callie and Dora like Christie, what is his name? Anyway, um he has a the the dad of the two has a a really, really they're um yellow labs and they had he has a really long um beautiful wonderful predigree and then he was the dad of Boone and Boone is um Rick said that Boone's mom was a hillbilly, so his predigree isn't nearly as good. But anyway, they had Halloween, um Halloween collars on, and oh my gosh, they were so cute. It was just the most amazing experience. Oh, and Rick brought us a bottle of wine, and um I I know that had we not met him for those 30, 60 seconds on Friday, there's no way that we would have called him to come hang out with us, and then he wouldn't have spent almost well over an hour with us um experiencing the animals. But if you are in Fredericksburg, or even if you're not in Fredericksburg, you're nearby, you can drive to it. Fredericksburg is an amazing um German heritage place with lots of shopping, lots of wineries. Um, but Longneck Manor was such an amazing place to be because uh conservation is the mission and the heart of this place. And so, yes, we got to stay in this beautiful casita. Yes, we got to experience these amazing creatures, but behind all of that, it's just about conserving them and reproducing them and increasing the population of these endangered species. And um, I highly recommend going. And thank you, Rick. Thank you, Armand, thank you, Tish, for being such incredible hosts. Thank you for sharing your passion and your love for these animals with us. Um, they also have a gift shop, and um the necklaces and the stuffed animals are all handmade um in Africa. And so I bought Bruce's sloth because he loves sloths and it was handmade in Kenya. And it was just, and there was a little um rhino um figurine that was made out of recycled flip-flops that were found in the ocean. And so it's just it's a beautiful, beautiful place to be. I highly recommend it. Um, go. My mom and I are planning on going. I think we're gonna go in January or February. Um, it's a beautiful place to go with family. It's a beautiful place to go for a bachelorette party, for a birthday party, uh just because um we only stayed there one night. You can stay multiple nights, you can stay one night. I think that as like over um like the holidays, you have to stay two nights, but on just like a one-off weekend or a one-off um uh weekday, you can stay one night. And really, like, yes, staying two nights would have been great, but you would only get the experience once. Um, highly recommend at least staying one night. They also had like a refrigerator stacked and snacks stocked, and um it was a beautiful place to be, and it will be a core memory that I will remember for the rest of my life. And um, Callie and Joy remind me of Cafe Le was that is is that the giraffe's name? Cafeele. I think that I think it is. I think it's Cafeele. But what is the older dog's name? Trooper, wanderer, drifter. Drifter, it's drifter. Anyway, I knew I could get it. All right, guys. I love you. I'm reading for you, and remember you matter. There will be a link in the show notes for you to go and check out Long Neck Manor. You can donate to them, you can go and stay there. Highly recommend it. Please go, please experience this. Um, it will be a core memory that you will remember forever. All right, girl, I love you. Bye.