a day at the zoo??

for over a week now, elizabeth and i have been planning to go to the zoo today. this was to be our treat and what has pulled us through this week of long hours studying for mid-terms. we woke up this morning (it was actually closer to the afternoon) with a wild expectation that today was 'zoo day.' today was the day. it was a gorgeous day to be at the zoo, too. sunny. temps in the mid-70s with very little humidity. a nice brisk breeze. i had imagined this day since before we moved here. the polar bear exhibit was waiting. after eating lunch (we missed breakfast), we raced out to the car to head down the street to the zoo. everything was going great. a beautiful day. two well-rested, nature-loving kids. two full bellies. a camera with fully charged batteries. a full tank of gas to go a quarter of a mile.

we hopped in the car and sped off with eager excitement of all the great things we would see. but as we pulled around the corner to the zoo parking lot, we noticed something very odd. the parking lot was full. this is a ridiculously large lot. as we pulled in behind a long line of other cars pulling in as well, we found that there were zoo staff directing traffic and opening up gates to overflow parking lots. what is going on? it looked like the msu campus on a game day (when state actually had a good team). we pulled up next to a lot attendant. i asked him if there was something special going on today. "nope."

my hopes for the day quickly faded. forget the zoo. i want the animals all to myself. i am not standing in a crowd of a.d.d. kids who are bouncing off walls and complaining that they are hungry or tired or that the animals are just laying around. what now? how about the carnegie musuems? okay.

so we headed toward oakland (mid-town where the musuems are for you non-burghers). after a stop at the bank and at a used/rare bookstore, we got to the museums. ah, the uncrowded musuems. to our surprise, we got into the museums of natural history and the museum of art for only $12. what a deal! all the dinosaurs, stuffed dead animals, and art the heart could ever desire in a day! although we ended up in doors, i must say that it was a delightful day. i will blog more about the rest of this day shortly!

cheers,
jw