Sunday, July 29, 2012

Zoo

Yesterday was Beth's birthday, so we met up with Beth, her husband Tony, her brother Pat, Pat's girlfriend Brittany, and Beth's parents (Debbie and Bob) at 12:00 to do birthday stuff. I had no idea what the plan was for the day, so I just wore a regular shirt, jeans, and flip-flops.

We started off with lunch at Jaspare's Pizza. Then Beth asked if everyone was ready to go to the zoo. I was thrilled about going to the zoo, but I was wearing a slightly heavy shirt and flip-flops. Oops! I figured I'd be okay, though. My flip-flops are really comfortable and squishy.

As soon as we got there, of course, I remembered I had my walking shoes in my car, which meant I could have switched my shoes before we got into Pat and Brittany's car. Oops again!

Everyone in the world was at the zoo that day. It was the first nice Saturday of the summer, about 80 degrees instead of 100 like it's been lately. We had to park a half-mile from the entrance, and then every exhibit was super crowded and packed with screaming kids. The animals were cool, though, and I had a really good time socializing with everyone, but Brent was at his wit's end. He hates crowds, especially when it's a crowd of screaming children. I tried to give him lots of space, especially because if he's in a crappy mood, I start to feel crappy. I didn't want to feel crappy; I wanted to have fun! :) I don't say that to be insensitive; he knows his mood wears off on me, so I think he was giving me space too. He and Tony pretty much hung out together all day talking about computer stuff.

I didn't have my camera with me since I had no idea we were going to the zoo, so we didn't get any pictures of us together like I was hoping. Beth took some pictures of us looking at animals, though.

I'm to the left of Bob (in the yellow shirt). I uploaded this one because it shows off Brent's hair. ;)


Looking at prairie dogs


For $1/leaf, you can buy big pieces of lettuce and feed the giraffes.

It's a really great zoo. A lot of the environments are as natural as they can make them, and there isn't any concrete. All of the paths are dirt/fine gravel with lots of rocks, twigs, and terrain. There's a lot of wild forest growth and a minimum of fences, just enough to keep everyone safe. It's really beautiful.

It's a good two to three-mile walk with hills and such, and it felt good to get exercise. A lot of the animals were hiding because of the heat and noise, but we got to see about 75% of them. Beth said we should go back in the fall when it's cooler and not so crowded (and I'm wearing better shoes). I'm definitely up for that. :) I had some pretty bad blisters from my flip-flops, so walking hurt near the end, but they were much more supportive than I thought they would be. Standing around didn't bother me at all. Usually, my feet are killing me after a half-hour or so.

After the zoo, we decided to take some time to go home, wash up, and cool down before dinner. Brent decided to stay home since he was still stressed from all the people and kids, so I got ready for dinner and met everyone over at Martell's. It's this really nice restaurant in a yuppie apartment/condo community, set back in a pretty wooded area with a pond and stuff. The food was delicious; I'm definitely going to take Brent there for special date nights.


It was only 9:30 when we finished dinner, so we went back to Beth's to hang out and play Trivial Pursuit. We played guys against girls, and the girls won! I got home around 2:00 and passed out almost immediately. I'd had a Grasshopper (delicious alcoholic drink) with dinner plus two allergy pills (Beth and Tony have a cat and a big, yellow lab). Brent was watching a movie in bed. I barely remember talking to him before I passed out. I'm never able to fall asleep with the TV on, but I was DEAD.

All in all, it was a great day with fabulous company and delicious food. :)

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