Yesterday was family day at the San Diego Zoo. We had not done something unique for quite some time and we were really looking forward to it. I forgot how much walking is involved in touring that zoo. You could walk all day and probably still not see everything. Now we couldn't beat the price to get in - it came to a whopping $10 for the four of us. This was thanks to my son's school. Field trips rock!!! Now what we saved in admission, I think we more than made up for it in food. One soda is $4. I think we ended up spending about $50 in food. And we didn't really buy anything. A few sodas and lunch. That was it. Good grief, did I buy rib eye steaks with a margarita? I had a sandwich. Oh well, at least it goes to a good cause. Support the zoo. Now we did find some interesting animals. Some make you scratch your head. What is the purpose of a naked mole rat? That poor critter is probably one of the ugliest rodent out there. Sorry Rufus... We did enjoy the meerkats. And of course the red panda, which looked more like a fox than a bear. And of course, my ultimate dream bird. The hyacinth macaw. Someday, sometime, somewhere, I am going to own that beautiful bird. Not that it could ever replace Bandit, who I still miss terribly.
Now this account of the day would not be complete without a shout out to my son, who rescued the fuzzy duckling. Yes, spring was in full force at the zoo, with lots of baby ducks racing behind their moms. One little guy escaped from his fenced enclosure (that small, fit through the bars), and wandered into the walkway. Poor thing was sitting there crying pathetically for his mom. My son, inheriting the pet lover gene from me, picked him up and tried to put him back in. He was successful, but it took some doing. The fences are not only designed to keep the animals in, it is also designed to keep the people out. He thought that was so cool, handling this baby duck. Baby was ultimately reunited with mom, but she had to come back and get him, as she had taken the rest of the troop to the water. Unfortunately my 2 year old daughter could not figure out why a duck would not come to her and willingly climb into her lap so she could hold one too. Poor thing was heartbroken when we finally had to leave and she was unable to convince a duck to be held. Maybe next time...
