A Day at the Zoo Number Two
Greetings to everyone.
Our 17 pound alarm clock woke us at 06:00 this morning. He loaded his diaper, which of late has started to wake him up. Rebecca and I are encouraged by this; potty training may be sooner than we first thought.
With the expected temperatures in the low 70's and a sunny day ahead, we made an impromptu decision to make another zoo trip today. This we decided while preparing breakfast. Discussing which option would suit us best, morning or after Xavier's nap, we thought morning.
Boy, did we make the right call! We found parking up close to the gate, the ticket line had only three parties ahead of us, and the gift shop was next to empty. When we left the zoo around twelve thirty, the line to buy tickets stretched long into the parking lot; probably a thousand people in line at least. We have never seen such a line to get into the zoo! In fact, the only time I saw a line that long (or longer) was when the zoo had Klondike and Snow.
We decided to pack as light as possible. That meant snacks and drinks for the three of us, some diapers and wipes, a camera and the zoo hat we bought Xavier last July when we took him. We chose not to bring a stroller or Xavier's wagon; the zoo rents wagons and we thought to try that out. Next time we will bring the wagon; we found the quality of the zoo's rentals lacking. We ran into many people with similar wagons to Xavier's and several useful accessories; some of these folks I engaged in discussions about some of the more interesting accessories.
Last July, when we took Xavier to the zoo, he was still not eating well and too young to really engage with the experience. We thought now he would enjoy the visit more. We judged correctly. The very first thing he got excited about was a zoo golf cart parked near the first exhibit. He ran to it, climbed in and pretended to drive it.
Upon our arrival this year, we chose a divide and conquer technique to alleviate the perceived "crowd problem." As it turned out, the zoo did not have much of a crowd until later in the day.
I went to get tickets and Rebecca popped into the gift shop for a cup of Joe and a "monkey" leash and harness for Xavier. Instead of a monkey backpack, Xavier decided on one with an elephant. Even with the straps cinched as tight as possible, the harness proved too big for Xavier's size. Fortunately, the harness had a strap across his chest which made the harness workable. With its six-foot detachable leash, it's one of the best $20 we have spent on Xavier in weeks!
Shortly after staring our self-paced tour, we came to one of the zoo's interactive exhibits: the lorikeets. The lorikeets were in an outdoor exhibit; entry was gained through a double set of doors. On the way in, for $1.00 you could purchase a cup of nectar and feed the lorikeets. We arrived at a great time as the birds were hungry. Though Xavier did not feed any directly (the birds would have swiped the cup from him and flown off), he did enjoy watching these colorful birds up close (most were tame enough, you could stroke their feathers if you moved gently enough).
Xavier did enjoy the animals more this time. Standing at some exhibits, he watched, sometimes pointing at the animals or squawking happily. At Monkey Island, Xavier thought he might have fun climbing the stone wall. Not to get to the monkies, but because he wanted to climb the stone wall.
As Xavier takes his naps beginning between noon and one o'clock most days, so our time at the zoo came came to an end around 12:30. Before returning the wagon and heading back to the car, we found an "excavation dig site" sponsored by Children's Hospital. This was a large sand-filled pit framed by stamped cement "rocks". The sand pit had pails and shovels and sifters. Hidden under the sand lay plastic dinosaur bones waiting to be discovered. This proved the perfect place to let Xavier run around before strapping him back into his car seat.
When let off his leash, Xavier headed straight for the sand area, and straight for a shovel. He pushed the shovel into the sand like he knew what he was doing, then assisted a little girl about his age in filling her bucket with sand. I was unable to get Xavier to take interest in the sand sifters, but he did unearth a plastic spoon. Throwing aside his big shovel (perhaps so as not to damage any buried archaeological discoveries with it), he proceeded to fill buckets with sand, scooping the sand with the plastic spoon. It was his prize of the dig.
Once home, Xavier ate a unusually sized lunch (for him), then hit the sheets. He slept for more than three hours.