If you're studying Africa, a trip to the zoo is crucial. And I like zoo days. Really, really like them. There are no distractions. There is no rush. There are no lines. There are no whiny kids if you have a well stocked stroller, and you can observe to your hearts content without being considered rude... (at least as far as I know - the monkeys picking at their butts may feel differently.) I would have to say that a trip to the zoo rivals a game of Bingo at the fair. A very pleasant diversion; that I'm really lucky at. And I was really lucky at the Forth Worth zoo. It was clean. It was cheap. It was beautiful. And the animals did more than eat and sleep. The lion leaped and roared. The hippo swam, walked, ate, yawned, mooed, and swished it's poop. And the warthog charged the zebra, and then the zebra charged the warthog. We would have felt like we'd won the grand daddy, queen sized quilt for 'Black Out' if it weren't for one thing. Hydn had a healthy case of heart failure in the presence of such stimuli. One terrified little boy was attached tightly to my neck in a death grip, most of the day. (I'd advise not starting a youngster's first trip to the zoo with an active gorilla exhibit...)
He relaxed only long enough to enjoy things smaller than himself.
One was the meercat. And while it was cute, it's debatable if it was cute enough to be picture worthy.
Parakeets were also on the 'safe' list. Flamingos, Dodo birds, Eagles, Toucans, not so much...
Because of this and my aching arms,
we spent a lot of time here.
Did you understand that I didn't say "a lot" lightly?
We spent so much time here...
...that we were bound to break the rules sooner or later.
(FYI: Texas is not near as uptight when it comes to rules as California.... catching birds, standing on the hippo's fence, and touching the rhino's armor with a stick proves this)
We ended the African safari with a visit to Ethiopia's Queen of Sheeba restaurant.
And while I don't know that it's up there on my list of favorites, it served it's purpose well. There was plenty of food, we could eat with our hands, a little went a long way, and Hy was able to breathe again.
It was a good day.
He relaxed only long enough to enjoy things smaller than himself.
One was the meercat. And while it was cute, it's debatable if it was cute enough to be picture worthy.
Parakeets were also on the 'safe' list. Flamingos, Dodo birds, Eagles, Toucans, not so much...
Because of this and my aching arms,
we spent a lot of time here.
Did you understand that I didn't say "a lot" lightly?
We spent so much time here...
...that we were bound to break the rules sooner or later.
(FYI: Texas is not near as uptight when it comes to rules as California.... catching birds, standing on the hippo's fence, and touching the rhino's armor with a stick proves this)
We ended the African safari with a visit to Ethiopia's Queen of Sheeba restaurant.
And while I don't know that it's up there on my list of favorites, it served it's purpose well. There was plenty of food, we could eat with our hands, a little went a long way, and Hy was able to breathe again.
It was a good day.