Monday, June 18, 2012

Two Days Ago


     Two days ago my family escaped leaving town to take a much anticipated and long awaited road trip to the Fort Wayne Children‘s Zoo.    Maybe other families take road trips all the time and it is standard fare for a summer weekend.  For me and my family, taking a road trip together is a rare occurrence.   My husband spends all but 4 days a month on the road and honestly the last thing on his agenda when he finally finds his way to the house is to hit the road again for a family adventure.  This road trip has been thought about, planned, and looked forward to since the snow flew this winter.  Actually I have yearned to return to this zoo since before my son was born over 7 years ago.   That is how long it has been since I have gone anywhere that even remotely resembled a vacation get away.  


        We woke early, counted our money once again, checked the internet once more,  and reassured ourselves that yes, we not only have earned this escape but we also had the money to cover it.  The drive was punctuated with the repeated phrase of “are we there yet?” from the back seat as only two anxious kids can do.  I worried as I watched the temperature climb into the 90’s as we continued on our journey.  I was honestly scared $hitless that I would end up toe up in a neighboring ER barfing in a wastebasket suffering heat stroke like I did last summer.  Still that made little difference when planning this little excursion.  The only factor that matters when planning a road trip like this is that my husband is with us.  The weather doesn’t always cooperate so you have to do what you have to do to soldier on grabbing life with both hands and experiencing it head on.




         Armed with a map of the zoo and my trusty camera we embarked on a journey that took us to the savannahs of Africa, the humid beauty of the rain forests, and finally to the dusty red dirt paths of Australia.  It wasn’t long before the map was stuffed deep in my purse and we chose to wander and explore wherever the path took us at our leisure snapping pictures and peering intently into the habitats to see the animals hidden in the shadows trying to keep cool in the sweltering heat.


          Wandering through the Fort Wayne Zoo allows you to discover exotic plants and animals around every turn.  I was blown away by the African journey where the grounds are carefully landscaped to give you the illusion you are in the heart of an African savannah where seeing zebra and wildebeest roaming freely is commonplace.  My favorite highlights of be the sky safari that soared us high into the sky giving us an amazing view of the savannah below and the up close and personal visit with the giraffes from an amazing 14 foot platform. 


         For a price you can pay to feed the giraffes.    The giraffes have it planned too.  We didn’t spend the extra dollars to wave a small piece of lettuce at the majestic creatures but two teenagers did and we were awed to watch a giraffe gallop right over and take the lettuce right from their hands.  The giraffe was so close I could reach out and pet its neck.   With the exuberance of a kid, I did just that.




       We checked out a real Land Rover, climbed inside some explorer tents, examined multiple bugs and butterflies under a telescope, and banged on African drums.  We road the train, took a lazy river ride, watched the kids beam their approval from a merry go round populated with endangered species, and were inspired by the beautiful fish that swam in the tanks in the Great Barrier Reef aquarium.  




       It was stifling hot but the zoo had various spots throughout where you could cool off with a mist of refreshing water.   We took full advantage of these standing in front of them and getting thoroughly drenched before proceeding on.   Even though by the end of the afternoon a migraine had settled in and nausea began to take over, I survived and had a blast at the zoo. 

       We spent a glorious day exploring and enjoying the animals who except for the giraffes who expected food,  looked like they were hot as hell and didn’t give a rat’s a$$ if anyone was looking at them or not.    It didn’t matter if the animals looked bored as hell; we were thrilled to be there regardless of the heat and enjoyed every single minute until next time when I give you a glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.


26 comments:

  1. Excellent. I felt as if I were there with you.

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    1. Sondra, I am so pleased you enjoyed the recounting of my journey to the zoo!! I was trying to tell it so you would feel as you were there with me and am pleased I accomplished what I set out to do! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments!

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  2. I am so happy you all had such a great trip! I love it when you share your family time with all of us, after the fact, of course.

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    1. Jo, I am so pleased you enjoyed the retelling. We had such a great time and the kids and I were just thrilled we got to go! I think my husband had a blast too. I think when you don't always get to do things like that, that when you do it makes it just that much more special! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments!

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  3. Glad your hubby decided to take you all on the outing! Sounds like a fun one too!

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    1. Journey of Life, me too! We had a great time. For so many years we have just made the best of things at home because of lack of funds. This year I wanted so much to make this summer one to remember. Thank you for stopping in to read and for your sweet comments!

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  4. That sounds like a great day! I'm glad you had such a good time.

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    1. The Host, it was a great day. Thank you for stopping by to read and for your comments. I love your profile picture, it always makes me giggle a little when I see it. LOL

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  5. Sounds like a great day and what magnificent plumage on that bird in the last picture! LOVE those sky tram thingies too.

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    1. JoJo, I got quite a few good pictures. I wasn't sure if I should post a slew of pictures so I chose a few. The sky tram is new since the last time we had went to the zoo and it was awesome. I love those things too and have ridden on things like that before at amusement parks. Thank you for stopping in to read and for your sweet comments!

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  6. My favorite kind of vacation, animals, long drives and a nice bed to fall asleep in with lots of food that I did not cook. Had a blast reading this

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    1. Phoenixritu, I am so pleased you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your comments! ♥

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    1. Sandra, thank you! I took over a hundred at the zoo. I was taking pictures of everything...literally. LOL I am so pleased you stopped by and enjoyed my post and my pictures! ♥

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  8. My kids got to pet a giraffe at our zoo one time- it was a huge thrill! Love your pictures.

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    1. Jewels, giraffes are so cool! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments! ♥

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  9. oh you know i JUST LOVED THIS!!!!!!!! Thank you for bringing us there with you!!!!!!!! So glad your hubby made it this time AND you gave such awesome memories for your kids!!!!!!! love love this

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    1. Brenda, we all had such a great time! I had a blast snapping pictures of everything in my path. Some of my pictures turned out fabulous, while others not so much. I am so pleased you stopped by! Thank you for reading and for your kind comments! ♥

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  10. I'm so glad you had a chance to get away. I bet it is tough to get your husband to go anywhere after driving all the time. I'd never thought of that.

    I don't know what it is about giraffes, but I've always been intrigued by them. I enjoyed your little video. I would love to go to a zoo one day, and we have a wonderful one here in our city. It seems like once my kids grew up, I stopped going to zoos. I hope I don't have to wait for grandkids to get to do that again.

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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    1. Joyce, after he has been out 3 weeks there is always so much to do and catch up on in the 4 days he is home. It always goes by so fast. He hates to have to go back to work, and we hate to see him go. Soon you fall into a routine and the days go by. Writing the challenges helps the time pass. It is hard to get anything written when he is home because we make up for lost time and are usually so busy while he is here. You and your husband should just go to the zoo and enjoy yourselves! You don't have to have kids to go! My husband and I went all the time before the kids ever came along. It was a blast. Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments! ♥

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  11. What a wonderful trip you had Kathy. Thank you for sharing this treasure with us. Loved it.

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    1. Tikulicious, it really was a great time and I got a lot of great pictures. It is sure to be a highlight of this summer for my whole family. Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments.

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  12. Incredible family time Kathy. And yes, I felt the heat, the pelt of the giraffe, etc. It was just like I was a long for the ride. Look forward to our next "trip" together!

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    1. Amy, that giraffe was really the most amazing of all. It had the longest eye lashes. I loved watching it gallop. Too cool. Thank you for stopping by to share in my little zoo adventure. I really enjoyed having you along for the ride and am thrilled I was able to convey it so that you felt apart of the experience. Thank you for your kind comments!!

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  13. I love that your family went on this excursion! :O)

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    1. Word Nerd, It was a real nice change from staying at home all the time. :D We had so much fun. I am sure it will be the highlight of our summer! Thank you for stopping by to read and for your kind comments!

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