Dinner and a Show

Photo prompt courtesy of  BAR

     Annaliese and Nick raced with their parents trailing behind to the monkey exhibit.  The animal encounter was scheduled to start in exactly 2 minutes.  A crowd had already gathered to watch and the young family jockeyed for the best position.

 

     Meanwhile, two zoo keepers clothed in regulation khaki shorts and forest green polo shirts moved amongst the monkeys distributing corn cobs.

“Gus, mind your manners!  People are watching!”

“Aw, mom! People are always watching, and I am starving!” Gus scrambled to capture a few loose kernels that had fallen from his mother’s cob.

“Gus, don’t you DARE eat off the ground in front of company.  Wait for another cob.  The people will give you one.  Be patient!”

“5 second rule. No time for patience!  Every monkey for himself!” Gus squealed as he lunged.

     His mother chose to ignore his antics, preferring to enjoy her dinner instead.    After all, she knew you only fought the battles you could actually win.   Gus licked the ground, enjoying every last kernel oblivious. 

     The crowd watched transfixed.  The monkeys ate, then raced to their perches, swinging on the ropes, scaling the tree, and providing the entertainment the crowds had ultimately come to see.  Cameras snapped, cell phones raised in salute, to capture the moment for later, to share in Snap Chat, Face Book, or Twitter to the less fortunate souls who couldn’t be at the zoo today.

      Annaliese and Nick clapped delighted, while their parents encouraged them to move on to the next exhibit with the rest of the crowd.  More animals to see, more ground to cover, and only the beginning of their day at the zoo.

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What I Did This Summer- BFF 227

      This last summer was one of the best I can remember in recent memory.  Forget that it was hotter than the blazes of hell and absolutely refused to rain until it was time for the county fair.  It was a great summer!!  From the time my kids stepped off the bus for the last time at the opening of summer break I honestly celebrated having both of them home each and every day.  As much as I enjoy my seclusion, I realized how much I looked forward to my kid’s constant company.

       I made up my mind that we would stay busy.  Despite the lack of money we were going to have a great summer, and we did.  We visited the city and county parks.  I signed both kids up for the library’s summer reading program and we signed up for several of the programs offered.  The best was a family reading time at Wellfield Botanic Gardens.  After stories and songs, the kids and I explored with camera in hand.  I never realized how much beauty my hometown could offer until I went out and found it this summer.

       A highlight of the summer was a family trip to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo where we explored habitats from across the globe from the African Veldt to the Indonesian Rain Forest.  Our journey took us to the barrier reef of Australia and back.  Along the way we saw cool animals and rode fun rides.  The journey through the zoo was thrilling for each and every one of us and I made sure to document those precious moments with lots of pictures.

       Beginning the previous fall my daughter began working on her 4H projects that would be exhibited at this summer’s county fair.  It is little wonder that the county fair was another highlight of my summer.  My husband came home for the beginning of the fair and for the end.  We went twice celebrating my daughter’s successes and took in everything the fair had to offer including the fabulous food.  It waited to rain for the fair and we picked a day to go when the rain poured from the heavens.  Instead of hiding in one of the many barns, we raced through the downpour giggling as we splashed in the puddles.

        This last summer I became liberated.  I learned how to use the barbecue grill without burning down the yard!  Before I always waited to enjoy grilled meat until my husband came home.   Now I grill meat whenever I want to, which happens to be just about every night now because I can!!!  We enjoyed camping and sitting out watching campfires burn out.  There were many days spent floating in the swimming pool, afternoons when it was too hot to venture out when we laid about in the air conditioning, and more ice cream cones than I can count.  We ate watermelon and picked blueberries in the blistering heat and spent our days moving the sprinkler in the hope that the garden would produce something…ANYTHING!

         Last but certainly not least, another thing that made this summer so special was that the kids and I made a commitment to walk as much as possible.  We are very fortunate to live in close proximity to an elementary school, an intermediate school, and a high school.  By the end of the summer our walks took us to all three and spanned almost 6 miles in one jaunt.  We would walk stopping at each playground along the way so the kids could play.  We drank more water, exercised more, and in my opinion felt better than we ever had before.  Of course I wrote faithfully all summer and produced some of my best writings to date even stirring up the mix by finally having the balls to delve into fiction.  It was a great summer, and one I will cherish and look back on for years to come with fond memories until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

Save Money on Vacation to San Antonio, Texas

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of SAVE for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

      With only a few weeks before the kids are back in school there is no better time than now to have one last vacation fling for the summer!  If you are looking for a place to go, look no further than San Antonio, Texas for an affordable vacation destination filled with something for everyone made even more appealing with SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience  where you can save over $600.00 on discounts and deals at the most sought after hotels, resorts, theme parks, and museums. 

       Whether you are interested in staying close to the popular down town River Walk, near the theme parks, or the airport, find great deals at luxury hotels like the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency of San Antonio, the San Antonio Marriott River Walk, the Hilton Palacio del Rio, or the Westin River Walk.  If you are looking for more modestly priced hotel destinations, the SAVE program offers deals at those destinations too!  You will be close to the best that San Antonio has to offer in family fun.

       

     At Sea World you can enjoy special savings on family of four packages, a second day of fun free, and a whopping $10.00 off individual admission prices to explore the all new Aquatica, an 18 acre area filled with up close and personal animal encounters, high speed thrills, and sandy luxurious beaches.  



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     San Antonio offers a 7 act musical extravagana featuring the best salsa music and dancing from the heart of Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Texas.  Up until August 10, your family can enjoy family friendly movies at the Splashtown San Antonio's Wave Pool.  On August 3 you can catch a free jazz concert and from August 18-25 you can enjoy delicious cuisine at participating restaurants offering specially priced menus. 



  When you have a family, vacations can get expensive in a big hurry.  Consider planning a trip to San Antonio, Texas where with the exclusive SAVE program you can get loads of family fun for your buck!  Take advantage of the Limited Time Offers  today!   For even more up to the minute updates on exclusive savings and deals follow @SAVEinSA  on Twitter.  If you are planning a trip to San Antonio, check out the SAVE program for a fun filled family vacation and save big!

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.