The Zoo

Today we went to the zoo.

What is your favorite animal???

We saw lions, tigers, polar bears, flamingos, snowy owls, arctic foxes, black and tan spotted jaguars, gorillas, monkeys, white wolves, on and on the list goes.

My favorite was the jaguars. The black one with it's glistening coat, pacing back and forth, back and forth. You can sense that if it could, it would've pounced!

It was so very, very hot...The sun, bright and blazing. The sky, piercing blue.

Now I don't do so well in the heat...I start to get well, quite honestly, grumpy... And for an outing, that is supposed to be "fun," grumpy doesn't cut it.

My little girl kept asking me, "Mommy, are you happy???"

Happy?, goodness, I was HOT, flaming, hot.

Then we would go on a path that was shaded. A canopy of trees and a sweet, gentle breeze. That's my kind of happy.

My other favorite animal in the zoo is people...

I love to watch people; their interactions, their families, their clothing, just look... I find people fascinating.

"Mommy," my daughter asked as we were wandering through the zoo and she would see that I was distracted, "what are you doing?" "I'm people watching," I'd reply. "Mom! you shouldn't stare." "I'm not staring, I'm looking..." I would laugh.

Couples, walking hand in hand. Children, racing by. One child fell, and great crying and carrying on ensued. Then there was the comforting, the shushing, the patching up...

Families were sitting on blankets eating their picnic lunches. Another family group, arguing. More people meandering by, taking the day to be together and to get the kids out of the house for pity's sake!

Hubby, meanwhile is our tour guide, and we are to "follow" him. So, follow we do and after three hours we are tired and ready to go home.

But there is one last stop, the gift shop.

This is one of our daughter's favorite places at the zoo. She has birthday money and is itching to spend it. So in we go, up one aisle and down the other. Finally, she decides on a beautiful soft, fluffy polar bear and a tube of plastic animals.

She has always loved animals so we are not at all surprised with her choices. She is happy and we are content that our trip to the zoo has ended well.