Friday's Tattler

We arrived at the zoo with few problems. There was a single lane most of 64,, but the bus made great time. We were excited to get there and we left our lunch at the front of the zoo and toileted and counted heads and then took of. It was a great day. It was cool and the animals were pretty lively.





We went to the dark houses first. The first thing we saw was the orangutan who greeted us with as much curiosity as we met him. He seemed interested in amusing the children which they loved. He was a lot bigger than I remembered, and the children were just fascinated with him. It took quite a while to peal them away.




Then the children got to see an albino crocodile. It was almost eerie. The caging was very nicely done. We stood on a platform and the croc was down in his pool, about as you would imagine if you came across him while out in the wilds.





Then it was off to see the penguins. They were wonderfully lively and we got to watch one come down the rocks and dash into the water. It's funny how they balance on the rocks. Lots of rocking lots of hopping. Many of the children did not like the fishy smell of the penguin house.







The next stop was the snake and spider house. One of the children was really surprised by what he saw. We saw lots of poisonous snakes, and spiders and huge frogs and my favorite, the bats. They were vampire bats and were feasting on little bowls of blood. I always find bats interesting.










Once outside, we made another head count. Very important for safety. It was crowded at the zoo, and the children mixed with lots of schools and lots of people. They did a great job.





We visited all the animals on one side of the zoo including the gorillas which were very accommodating and fun, and then we sent the men for lunch and walked down a pretty substantial hill for lunch.











The children got to play on the playground while we made a nice lunch for everyone, and everyone ate. They were starving!








After lunch we took off our shoes and socks and played in the water park. The kids had a ball.







They were soaked, but we knew they would dry off quickly, and they did as we walked back up the hill and saw all the animals on the other side of the zoo.









The lions were majestic and we got to see the baby giraffes.











We stopped for a little while at the petting zoo, and Miss Judy met an old goat she had known years ago...











Then, as it grew late, we made a beeline for the park entrance and had a brief soda and cookies to refresh us, and we climbed the bus for home. Twenty two children were asleep by half way home.