Xavier Visits the Butterflies
Greetings to everyone.
Xavier visited the Westminster Butterfly Pavilion this morning. As this was close to the office I work out of, I joined the family for a tour and a hot dog lunch. It was a fantastic day for it. The weather could not have been adjusted any better: a warm, sunny mid-July day, but only in the mid 70's temperature-wise.
We started in the invertebrate exhibit, moved around to the aquatic exhibit, then entered the conservatory, where the butterflies roam free.
The exhibits are definitely kid-friendly, having ramps and stairs built around the exhibits so that even the smallest child could get up close and see spiders and bees and walking sticks and many others bugs without the help of an adult. And run from exhibit to exhibit, Xavier did. I think he had more fun running along the ramps than actually enjoying the bugs in their cages.
We stood in line to hold Rosie, the tarantula. You get a sticker to boast about your bravery if you hold her. The line was not so long, but it moved slowly. As we got up next to hold Rosie, we read the sign which stated children must be three years or older to hold Rosie. Bummer.
Still, not daunted, we thought Xavier might want to touch Rosie if Daddy held her. We sat down. As Rosie's handler brought her near, Xavier pulled away; he wanted nothing to do with touching her! Still, he did look on as Rosie crawled across Daddy's hand. You will notice how Xavier holds his arms and sits: as far from the big spider as he can.
Xavier liked the aquatic exhibits. The ramps and walkways let him right up to press his nose against the glass. He saw fish, lobsters, big shrimp. We lifted him to touch a starfish, but he was more interested in splashing the water in the tank. We were a little bummed the octopus hid itself so well; we never saw it.
After a bathroom break, we headed for the conservatory where butterflies floated everywhere, in packs and in singles. They landed on leaves, sometimes even landed on people. Fascination overtook Xavier with every turn of the path. His hand was in the air much of the time, pointing at some new thing he wanted to share with Mom and Dad.
The staff had a butterfly release while we toured. It was not too exciting; they released the butterflies one by one and explained something about the species. Very hum-drum. Mom and Dad (and I'm sure Xavier too) wanted them to just take the lid off the cage and let them all fly out at once.
We ended the tour with a hot dog lunch outside the conservatory. We did not have enough time to walk the outside grounds, it was too close to Xavier's nap time. The grounds, by the way, looked lovely, and a wonderful day to tour the outdoor exhibits.