MeMaw and PaPa visit part 3 of 5

May 14, 2012 MeMaw and Papa come over early and we head out to the Detroit Zoo. Expecting the cafes to be open, we plan to see all the exhibits on one side of the zoo leading to the cafe on the farthest side from the entrance. This plan leads us first through the penguin exhibit, and since it was a warm day, the smell of fish was overwhelming and my Memaw left with in seconds of entering the facility. Next we visited the new play ground available at the zoo.

 It was awesome. A nice stop for Zeph to nurse, me and Memaw to chat and the boys to blow off some crazy.
Then there was the fountain with the bear statues, and many a "bear butt" jokes ensued. Then the ever favorite amphibian exhibit, where the boys enjoyed spying on snakes, frogs, crocodiles, and the like. One lizard looked asleep and wedged in a crack in an awkward way that looked similar to how I find my boys in their cages, I mean beds, in the morning. Yet on closer inspection, it appeared to not be breathing! Either that thing had a ridiculously shallow breathing or it's keeper had not noticed yet that it's been "asleep" in the same position for a little too long. It's a good thing my boys did not notice, because they would not have been able to keep themselves contained.
 So we get past most of the exhibits, the boys loving every minute of seeing the animals and funny looking people. Once we arrive to the cafe, tired and hungry, we learn that during the week the zoo only keeps one cafe open. That cafe is in the middle of the zoo, just past the polar bears. Just past where we were. 15 minutes ago. Where the hungry really started to hurt. Where the attitudes started to flare. Where my mom spent 10 minutes trying to get the perfect shot of an iris just like the one she has at home.

 We took a bathroom break, and headed toward the middle of the zoo, opting out of seeing the bears until our bellies were satisfied. After a yummy meal, it was time for yet another bathroom break. Jo consistently puts his glasses on upside down, so this made for a little entertainment while waiting for Memaw in the potty. Memaw was gracious enough to hold Zeph for me while I went potty. Zeph spent the whole day very comfortably wrapped up in the sling, only taking breaks for diaper changes and nursing. Lets just say, I got my very first day of serious work out since Zeph was born, and I felt the burn. I was very proud of myself. I burnt almost a thousand calories carrying that boy for 5 hours. I rewarded myself with a giant hamburger.

 Bellies full, bladders empty, we heading into the polar bear exhibit. It was getting very warm, sun was shinning and so was everyone's foreheads. Most of the animals were hiding in shade to take naps, except the polar bears. One was walking around, and the other was playing in the pool. There were two more polar bears, but we did not see them until we went to the underwater tunnel part of the exhibit. When you first walk in, the pool for the seals is on display. Mo caught, literally, the tail end of large seal swimming by the glass. Then we went down the tunnel, not much was going on, and we were quickly heading through. Shea told me to sit and wait since my parents were lagging behind. Then the coolest thing happened. It was snack time. Little fish started falling in the water and soon after you saw four large paws walking just above your head, then a dive, and snatch! The bear caught his treat in mid swim. More and more fish fell, plunk, plunk, plunk and the bear followed to each location. This was causing quite a stir. The more laughed and pointed in delight. Jo staying close to me, while Mo running around like a mad man follow the bear to each catch. I had a big dumb grin on my face, but I did not care, it was cool. It was such a great moment and I got to share it with my parents.

     Bears were the best part of the day, at least for me, but Mo kept on insisting to see the giraffes. Mo had fed giraffes at the zoo in Dallas when he stayed with friends, and another time at Fossil Rim. I feared he expected to do the same that day. Usually one can purchase tickets to feed the giraffes, but it was sold out. Fortunately, he was satisfied with just looking. We went up the other side of the zoo heading toward the back again, and this time our goal was the train. The train that takes you from the back to the front for a small fee. This was very appealing to everyone. The kids loved the idea because it was a train. I loved it because I was exhausted from carrying Zeph all day, and my parents loved it because, well they are old. (love you mom and dad!) Checking all the animals along the way, we got closer and closer to our destination, then there was a bathroom. Potty stop. The very last thing for us to look at were the kangaroos, but there was one problem. We had chosen to go a way that put us at the end of the exhibit and there was no going in the exit. The entrance to the kangas was near the train. The train that was coming. The train that would take 20 minutes to come back around. The train that would get us home sooner than later. It was getting close to dinner and our bellies were becoming the boss again. Since you could see the kangaroos from the outside, just not close up like you can when you walk through. We decided that the outside look was good enough and high tailed it to the train station. We barely made it, and we relaxed as the choo choo took us to the front. We opted out for leaving through the gift shop, loaded up into the car and headed toward the closest Big Boy.