Ben was sick last week for his school trip to the zoo, so I promised him we would go this weekend. We arrived a little before noon, snagging one of the last parking spots, which was really an adversely possessed portion of the sidewalk. But why did they need a sidewalk at the end of a parking lot median anyway? I had seen others park there before, so I knew to take it quickly before the cars ahead of me circled the lot and came up empty. You know that guy everyone glares at for benefiting from prior experience? Yeah, that was me.
We meandered from one exhibit to the next, with no agenda and no sense of urgency. That's the best part of living so close to everything DC has to offer: we can take our time, and if we run out, we can always come back again. The pandas ticked off a lot of tourists by hiding in the back of their enclosure, but we've seen those lazy furballs several times, so it hardly mattered to us. Last time one was passed out in the shade giving everyone a nice clear view of only his yellowish butt; I saw a lot of cameras dejectedly tucked back into their bags.
Ben could hardly restrain himself the moment he spotted someone carrying cotton candy, because I'd told him we would have some if it were available. Tracking it down turned out to be a walking version of Where's Waldo. Neither of the two main cafés had any, and the one person I asked gestured vaguely uphill. We finally located it beyond the reptile house, and Ben suddenly forgot how tired his feet were and ran for it. I don't think Ian had ever had cotton candy before, but he showed no sign of his typical resistance to new food items before digging in with gusto. After a few bites, they seemed to get more enjoyment out of giving themselves pink moustaches than eating it. This is why I carry wetwipes with me at all times.
No wait. This provides a better sense of how useless a napkin would be against cotton candy (click for the full effect):
After that, I knew we needed to find an outlet for the coming sugar rush, stat. Fortunately the kids' play area wasn't too crowded, and they made friends to play tag with. Or something like tag. They mostly just chased each other around in circles, but somehow managed not to yak pink goo in the process. I don't think I had enough wetwipes for that.
By the time we made our way toward the exit, it was after 5:30. We'd spent nearly six hours at the zoo. We ducked into the barn to see the goats and donkeys, and on our way out a frenzied guy pushing a stroller asked me the fastest way to Amazonia (the rainforest exhibit) because it was closing in less than half an hour. His southern accent was so strong you could almost hear the cars sitting on blocks in his backyard, and he hollered to the rest of his family, "Come AWN! We see goats ever' DAY!" I am not making this up.
The rest of the day was sublime. We drove home with the windows down, and I played them Mrs. Robinson for the first time. Then the second. Then the third and maybe a couple of times more. Sound of Silence, Homeward Bound, Cecilia... Songs for driving and feeling groovy.
I picked the first ripe tomato from our garden, and it tasted better than any tomato I've ever bought. I'm now thoroughly hooked on gardening. The avocado I had at home was at its peak, and the two combined made for fantastic guacamole. I also discovered Stirrings Simple Mojito Mix at Whole Foods, making mojitos dangerously easy to make at home now. The boys mellowed out with Mr. Rogers, which made me feel all sappy and nostalgic.
And here I was worried about wrangling the kids solo for the weekend while Sarah is out of town. Pfft. We had a great time.
