A Hail of a Zoo Day

Nora and I went to the zoo yesterday...it was one of those days where she's been recovering from a rather nasty cold/pneumonia-like bug, so I didn't want her to get WET (like swimming), so I thought, since it's been a month or more, that going to the zoo on a questionable weather day might be fun, but if it got bad, we could just leave.

Wrong.

We arrived at the zoo to find Nora THRILLED to be there...First the eagles were CLOSE to the entrance where you could almost reach out and touch them...Nora discovered the "eagles nest" which she announced was "Big Bird's nest" from Sesame Street, and she stood in there so long we had to ask her to move along just to give other kids a turn.

We saw SEVERAL animals out and active that we never usually see -- an ocelot (small spotted cat looking guy), and some turtles, the mongoose, and SEVERAL little alligator/crocs, who are usually off doing other things apparently, but this time came out for quite some time AND held still for photos..

Speaking of cooperative for photos...Nora was in RARE form for pictures, letting me take a few pictures like this one in the barn near the petting farm. She climbed on this horse, named it "Bullseye" (from Toy Story), and then said clear as a bell "GIDDY UP!"



The day at the zoo (well, most of the fun part anyway) ended with a hail storm when we were at the BOTTOM of the zoo, as FAR from the car as we could humanly be.

I had taken Nora into the restroom for a diaper change, and I could hear the hail start. Having spent seven years of my life in Colorado, I wrongly assumed this would be over in a few minutes.

So, we walked out and waited under the eaves of the snack bar nearby...and waited...and got cash out of the cash machine with a $2 charge...bought some chocolate...ate it...waited...then finally decided to make a run for the "Bamba du Jon Swamp" building which offered air that I couldn't see my breath in, and something new for Nora to look at besides falling hail.

After witnessing a 12-year-old boy sobbing over the storm (scaring the little kids), I finally decided that before Nora got an earful of his fears, that we would head up and get to the car.

Lucky for her, I had a blanket and just put her in the stroller and rolled up to the top to the car. We were both soaked -- and she had a couple of changes of clothes, so we changed her in the car before we left.

I, on the other hand, 30 hours later, am still drying out. It was a fun day though! She danced and thoroughly enjoyed being back at "her" zoo, and now we just wait for the summer weather to arrive!