Goin' To The Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

My parents live close to Central Park, the end of it that has the zoo. I like to wander in the park, and I can't tell you how many times I've simply wandered by it, completely by accident. So I knew, once we set out to go there, that we wouldn't be able to find it.

Well, that's just not true. Jamie was with us and headed us off in the right direction. We did find it, but we did wander around for a little bit, and ended up doubling back because there was no entrance where we thought there would be. But it wasn't a huge deal, because the day was absolutely fantastic. It must have been over seventy degrees out, and people were just out having fun and enjoying the weather.

We went to the main zoo, which is small, but a really nice zoo. The rainforest exhibit is really nice, and also warm and humid. One of the lemurs went nuts and let out a frightening series of growls in our direction, and now Nick is afraid of lemurs. And I have to say, I'm a little less inclined to watch Zoboomafoo.

Then we had lunch. Andrew was so wiped out that he fell asleep eating a french fry, and slept through the whole Children's Zoo. The Children's Zoo is a small, intimate, interactive petting zoo which was occupied by about five hundred people. More than half of them with strollers. The boys hopped through boy-sized logs, and pretended to be turtles. There is a gigantic spiderweb to climb on. Tons of fun.
I thought it was so crowded because the Children's Zoo was the big draw. But when we left and walked past the ticket booth, the line was four times as long as it had been in the morning. If it had been that long when we arrived, we would not have had to wander around AT ALL. And besides the line, the park itself was overflowing. Every inch of grass had a blanket or a towel with people on it. Many girls were in bikinis.


This is odd to be for so many reasons. I refuse to wear a bikini at a private pool, let alone the beach. So wearing one in a park full of fully clothes people IN MARCH is an impossibility. But to make matters even more bizarre, the skating rink was still open, and folks were still ice skating. Next to the sun bathers.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the day. It was a lot of fun, and so beautiful. But I have to say once more how it made me appreciate what I have here. A backyard. When the weather is nice, or not so nice, or so beautiful and unseasonal it must be taken advantage of, we can simply step outside. And be alone. I could wear a bikini in my backyard and only the crows would be the wiser. No need to go out and elbow your way through throngs of equally sun-starved folk. Of course, we can't walk to a zoo.