Peacocks, Otters and Cheese

Whew! We're exhausted. Who knew four fun-filled hours at the zoo could be so much work? Just maneuvering our double jogging stroller through the doorways clearly not made for double jogging strollers was enough to wear me out. I must mention that in four hours and about twenty doorways, only one sweet young girl offered to help me with the door. Not very impressed with the chivalry at the zoo. I did take the opportunity to talk to Nathan about being considerate when he's older and to always open doors for people. I think the response I got was, "When I was a big boy, I opened the door and it was heavy and then I closed it". Oh well, I tried to work a lesson in there.
We were supposed to meet some friends there, but we were a tad late and never found them...well, it turns out they had to cancel so it wasn't that we did a bad job of looking for them, they weren't there to be found. No big deal, I for one have definitely had those mornings in which my children completely change our plans without my consent.
However disappointed my incredibly social son was that he would not have friends to hang out with today, he still managed to have a pretty good time with Mommy and Little Sis. He still got to check out all of the animals. That is, the animals that were brave enough to take on the heat of the day. "Why are they sleeping, Mommy?" That was the question of the day today.(Followed by the obligatory "why", after the reasons Mommy gave for each animal's sleeping habits. I must say he got some pretty creative answers. Most likely nothing he will ever hear on Animal Planet, though. Now, I'm wondering if those animals were so tired because they live at the zoo, because I was just there for four hours and now I'm pooped!)
We unanimously voted the Arctic Circle our favorite exhibit. I'm pretty sure the air conditioned building was a major factor in the results of that vote, but the polar bears and seals are really cute.
Note to self: it is worth the time to wait for a table inside to eat lunch. First off carrying a small tray with a hotdog, cheeseburger, french fries, animal crackers and two open drinks (no straws or lids provided to protect the animals--still not sure what kind of dangers straws & lids create for animals, but it seems to be a universal zoo law so I'm sure there is a very logical reason) while pushing the aforementioned stroller is difficult enough. I actually had to transport the tray and stroller in shifts through the door and yes, someone else did help me with this door, but he does not get credit for chivalry because he commented, "You people either need smaller strollers or bigger doors". Ummm, "you people"? You mean a mom and two kids? How bizarre that we are at the zoo in a stroller? I digress...
The other obstacles outside should not bother people who go to the zoo. I mean we are there to celebrate nature, right? Well, you would think so... I personally don't like sharing my lunch with bees. And today we found out that Nathan is not exactly fond of sharing his meals with peacocks. The bees were annoying enough and one very determined bee continually made swan dives into my soda cup which I found quite disturbing. While I was fighting off the bees, trying to make sure Hannah had some type of cracker in her hand at all times, ate my lunch and kept our food from flying away in the wind (another part of nature we were conflicted about, wind is good for helping keep you cool, bad for keeping your lunch in place) Nathan continually commented that he did not want to see the peacock. I thought, No problem, we just won't go by that exhibit again. I thought he was referring to the part of the Arctic Circle where the peacocks were hanging out behind the fence. It was suddenly brought to my attention that he was referring to the peacock right behind me that stuck his head between my legs to eat one of Hannah's dropped crackers. I must say that it startled me, it's not every day a peacock eats a cracker between my legs. I managed to hide my surprise well, I thought. However, my son did not hide his feelings at all. He began crying and jumped onto our table. He did not want to be held by me because I was consorting with the enemy at the time, but he wanted out of there. Some others managed to draw our peacock away with some popcorn for a little while, but he was very determined to finish that cracker so he did come back. Well, we ended our lunch and moved on out of there. I can't say I really enjoyed that peacock's comfort level with us either. As we walked away, I couldn't help but comment, "Cocky little guy".
Speaking of cheesy humor, as we visited the Otter pond early in our zoo adventure today I thought of a letter I got from my childhood friend, Jill, when she was on vacation in San Antonio about 9 years old. She wrote me a letter every time they went out of town, even if it was just 3 hours away and this particular time they had gone to Sea World. She wrote that as they sat down for the Sea Lion and Otter show her dad said, "This otter be a good show". Classic Jamie (her dad). I love that letter. I still have it.
Well, I'm feeling refreshed already. Just sitting down to the computer and some TV while the kiddos are crashed on the couch has been just the remedy for our outing today. Or is it that Joey just called and is already on his way home? Hmmm...