Reminder to self: avoid zoo when it’s 90 degrees, humid and packed.

I had originally planned on the Katy Perry movie with Maria and her friend but that was yesterday when it looked like rain all day. There is something in me that just will not allow me to go to a movie theatre unless it’s pouring rain or unbearably hot. It didn’t seem unbearably hot when we biked over to pick up Janira so I asked if they’d rather hit the zoo. When they said yes, I ran with it. But after two hours of zoo walking and hardly any animal sights, I was kicking myself. Air conditioning, popcorn, Goober’s, and a movie sounded much better.

The train was a nice break and we spotted a mama moose and her baby. Nothing like the thrill that Sarah and Jorge felt when they looked outside of their tent in Yellowstone and spotted moose in their natural habitat a couple of days ago but hey, we will take what we can get in Columbus. The girls
mostly loved all of the stone statutes throughout the zoo. Janira begged me to take their picture each time they climbed on one.

We searched and searched after seeing the elephants in Asia Quest for the Dippin’ Dots stand – we were all craving that “ice cream”. It is a strange little food but the chunks of Oreos perked me up enough to walk back to the exit and out of the zoo. The girls found a photo booth on the way out and begged to get their photos. God, technology bums me out sometimes. I remember sitting in a photo booth with a girlfriend, inserting 50 cents, and having to create two or three poses immediately without knowing if both of your heads were in the picture or you looked ridiculous. When I swiped my Visa, it charged me $5 and then you got to adjust your faces perfectly and get your pose ready before the camera clicked. The girls knew no better and thought it was awesome but I waxed nostalgic about it as they waited for the pictures.

By the time three hours had passed, we were ready to hit the road. Unfortunately, so we’re the rest of the visitors who had been at the water park (thunder had closed the park). Perfect timing. Nothing like jamming your body next to other sweaty, unknown bodies. Between that and the heat, I’m lucky I didn’t go off once. The girls were really good, though, which helped keep my nerves calm!

Jon, meanwhile, took Mario to Grandma Ionno’s house for a few nights of sleepover. He’s only been asking about going for six days now. When he woke this morning, he beamed when he realized this was the day! He loves him some grandma and grandpa time!