Zoo

The Oregon Zoo.
The second Tuesday of each month is $2 Tuesday at the zoo. Loving husband and I are still debating whether it was worth fighting the crowds to save that much money. We loaded up the stroller, the red wagon, the coolers and the kids, and we were off. It was so crowded that even the overflow parking was full. Loving husband dropped us off, took the freeway to the next light rail station, and rode the light rail to the zoo. ($1.70, minus a fifty cent price break on his admission.)

Our first adventure at the zoo was a trip to the first aid station. Ten feet into the zoo entrance, we stopped for sunscreen all around, and younger lovely lady was stung by a bee. She handled it well-- as a matter of fact, last week she shrieked more loudly at seeing a bee than she did at the zoo when she was actually stung. After a sting-ease wipe, a band-aid and some ice, lovely lady was ready to head home.I packed a picnic lunch so that we wouldn't have to spend far too much money on greasy hamburgers and hotdogs. The elephants are right next to the picnic lawn. The smell of the elephants wafted over our picnic a time or two. Yummy.

By the time we got to the tiger, I was ready for a nap too.

Winged Wonders, the butterfly exhibit. Butterflies fluttered all around us in the tent. This is a Small Postman Butterfly. The Small Postman was the most common fluttering around the tent. Wear red or yellow if you visit a butterfly exhibit like this one, and a butterfly may land on you. The ladies and gents held very very still, but the butterflies only seemed to like loving husband, who didn't give a hoot whether or not a butterfly landed on him.

Look at all of the different chrysalids. Kindergarten gent, in particular was fascinated by the variety, especially by the ones that look like large dry leaves.
I'm so glad we decided not to walk on by the bats. Youngest gent is sitting on my lap as I type. "Bats! Look, it bats!" he says of the photo. "Bats eat nanas. Bats bite nanas and eat nanas." Clearly the bats made an impression. It was feeding time and the bats were devouring bananas, melons, and lettuce. It was fascinating to watch the bats flitting and darting and eating. Oh, but that bat cave....Holy warm and smelly, Batman!
The lorikeets were on my must-stop list. We were all tired and the littlest gents were dragging, and then we passed by the exhibit. "We have to go back for the lorikeets before we have our snack," I told them as we made a U-turn. I purchased a juice cup for each person, $1 for a teeny little cup half full of special lorikeet apple juice. It was worth it. How often do you get a parrot to perch on your arm? The lorikeets were a little full, after all they'd been drinking juice all day, but then again, who can resist a sweet treat?
Birds aren't the only ones who can't resist a treat.