Lions and Tigers and Meerkats...Oh My!

With the pool closed for the season, I’ve lost my default activity. With few exceptions, we’d gone every day I had the girls this summer, excepting the odd thunderstorm. The family membership was $78 well spent. Especially during the leanest portion of the summer, between freelance (my main client is a bimonthly magazine) and when overtime isn’t available, having something less than a mile away that was already paid for, that was golden.



Thursday, Mo blew chunks on the playground, and I got the call to pick her up. AFKFL* is in training for a new job, and I have an uber-cool boss who’s flexible as long as the freedom isn’t abused, so it was only logical I go. Plus, not wanting to be a Disney Dad, I want my kids to know I can be relied on when they’re feeling puny, come up limping, or otherwise need nurturing.



She was up and down as far as how she felt that afternoon. She asked for chicken, and when I nuked some nuggets (normally she inhales them, drowned in quarts of ranch dressing) she ignored them. In another peak of feeling better she said, ‘go swimming...swimming pool!’



Gawd, it was enough to make me fantasize about going to Watson’s. I can’t afford a pool of my own, but this is America, right? If I’m willing to be an indentured servant to some bank, maybe I could get one. Or maybe not.





Like a Hayseed Dixie show or Demolition Derby, the pool membership was a hard act to follow.







I had more or less forgotten about the zoo. I went on at least one field trip, when Mo’s school made a trek that way, and I’d been with Em at least once, but years ago. Looking into ticket prices, I saw they discount family memberships (Friends of the Zoo) at this point in the year. It’s only good for about half a year, but if we go at least three times, we come out ahead. It’s not quite like the pool, the gas to get there isn’t free and it’s considerably further from home. Also, there’s about no way to do it without at least buying a beverage from the overpriced concessions.



But still, considerably cheaper than a season passport to Worlds of Fun. Which I wouldn’t mind doing if I could swing it.



The original plan had been to do the Ethnic Enrichment Festival as well. Both are in Swope Park, and I took the girls to the festival a couple years ago. It was entertaining for them the first half hour, but it’s really about enriching ethnics through the sale of overpriced fair food. A Croatian version of the hamburger is all good and well, but $5?





By the time we were done with the zoo, we were too tired and I was too broke to go about enriching ethnics. Plus, the animals at the zoo are enriched if signs are to be credited.



I set out to not do the whole zoo. It’s too much. Plus, I reasoned, since I sprung for the membership, we can catch that other stuff next time.



We missed the chips and gorillas in the Africa section, but otherwise, we did the whole shooting match. I even popped for the boat/tram/train deal. It was an orgy of zoo.





We had a couple of Incidents, but not that bad. There was the cup of ice drained of Diet Coke Mo threw into the hippo tank. I’m like, ‘Why would you do that? I only gave you that cup because I know you like to eat ice and it’s hot out!’ As usual, those around us looked at me like I invented the impulse Mo had acted on. Ditto for when she bolted from the path in Australia, to chase the Canadian Geese that share the exhibit with more Aussie animals. There’s signs all over saying to stay the hell on the path, but it looks like you could go chasing the animals.



Em would offer such things as, ‘Yup, we need to go.’ Thing is, I can take Mo out of some situations as a consequence of bad behavior, but when you’re a thirty minute walk from the car, it lacks the leaving-the-restaurant punch.



The kicker, I think, was after we got back, and I asked Mo if she liked the zoo. ‘No!’ She loves to tease. I know she was teasing, because during the sea lion show, I heard ‘This is great!’ several times. She said the same for the meerkats, see also the SpongeBob ice cream thing, see also the boat ride, see also the red (non-giant) panda...





Oh, and Em is better about my picture taking now that I admit I’m a shutterbug. If the right deal on a good camera came along when I was solvent, I’d have to snatch it. I passed up on a digital Rebel with three lenses for less than 1/4 the original retail price, but it was only because I didn’t have the cash to close the deal. Though if a motorcycle was in sight, I wouldn’t get a camera at the expense of a bike...





I took like 400 pictures on this trip. This page probably takes an age to load, but this is only the best 26 shots I got. Remember when 24 exposures was a lot?







*This is deeply lame, but it’s tiresome typing out ‘the artist formerly known as Frau Lobster,’ and I haven’t come up with a new cool nickname for my ex-wife.