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April 29, 2007
It's Just A Bus...(Or) It's Just A Tram...
Picture it...Sunday in North Carolina...Temps in the high 70's, low 80's...Slight breeze, extremely sunny skies...What would you do on such a perfect day? Stay in? Sleep off a hangover? Clean the house? None of these were options for us. We can't stay in with a two year old. Hangover? Forget it. You can't drink with a two year old. (For so many reasons!) Clean the house? Not with a two year old following right behind you to mess it up...
So we did the next best thing! We went to the North Carolina Zoo!
I have never been to the Zoo, nor has Megan, so it seemed like a perfect time to take the Boys, get them some fresh air, see some animals, and do a lot of walking. (All of which we accomplished!)
To be honest, Megan and I feel that zoos just aren't the best places for animals. They seem fat and lazy, unable to do the things they instinctually need to do to survive. Zoos are great places for education, but sometimes, we feel, we are doing a disservice to animals who just need to be out in the wild, not penned in and stared at like some circus side show freaks. And don't get us started on circuses, either, because we certainly don't think animals are treated well there. I'm done now. I'm off my soapbox. Keep reading. It gets better. At least the pictures do!
Jonah does a fantastic "impression" of lots of animals, but his elephant is one of his best. We would put it here, but we don't know how to get video clips on here, so you'll just have to use your imagination. When we ask him what an elephant "says", he puts up his left arm, pushes air through his tightly closed lips, and makes an elephant sound. Cute huh? So it seemed fitting that some of the first animals we saw were elephants!
Here's an ostrich moving just quick enough to be blurry...
You know they say that you learn something new everyday. Well, that's true, and to prove it, here's something I learned today! I learned that the baboons with the bright red rumps? You know the ones I'm talking about, right? We laugh at them all the time on America's Funniest Home Videos (when we're not laughing at some poor slob who just got his private parts smashed by a two year old with a bat...) Well, turns out those are like cushions, as the baboons sit on their heinies all day long, on hard surfaces like rocks! Neat!
Speaking of baboons, here are two of them, one in the process of grooming the other....
Here's a gorilla, quietly enjoying his day...
And here is Megan with our Monkey!
Pretty flower...
Flamingo, anyone?
We really wanted to see lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) but we couldn't leave without visiting our shell carrying friends, the turtles!
Here, Jonah tries to get really close with them...
Such a nice day to take pictures of your family...
A sleepy bear warms in the midday sun...
Buffalo! Go Bills!
And now on to the explanation of the title of this post, "It's Just A Bus...(Or) It's Just A Tram..."...
The North Carolina Zoo is split up into two "zones", North America, and Africa. On each of these continents, you can view different species of animal. We decided to start in Africa, thinking that Jonah would love to see elephants and rhinos and hippos, so in case he had a case of the two's and melted down, we thought, he would have at least seen the elephants, and then we would leave Africa, and go home. (Jonah, by the way, was fantastic! No meltdowns, no tantrums, no screaming...) Except for when we decided to leave Africa, and go to North America, to see some Buffalo, some fish, polar bears, and some others. To get from one continent to another, you could walk, but it's a challenge, so we decided to catch a tram. They have two types, an open-air tram...
Or a short bus painted like a Zebra...
On line to catch the tram, Megan and I didn't feel like waiting, so we decided to catch the short Zebra tram. Fine by us, but not by Jonah. After Megan carried Josh, I folded up the double stroller, slung the diaper bag and the camera bag on my shoulder, and picked Jonah up to enter the tramZebrabus. That's when the Boy FREAKED. Nope. No sir, not a chance, wasn't having any of it. Didn't want to ride on the Zebra short tram, and he was going to let us all know about it, including the other poor souls on the short tram dressed as a Zebra. I apologized to the dozen or so folks on our chose mode of transportation, and in return, got support and understanding from my fellow riders. As the Zebra lurched forward, (okay it didn't lurch a t all; but I thought I might spice up the story a bit) Jonah instantly calmed down, after Megan told him, "It's just a bus!" At which point he would put his arms out to the side, and say, "It's just a bus!" And that broke the tension and relieved the stress for us and the other riders of the short Zebra.
At the end of our tour of North America, we had to take the tram back to Africa, but decided this time to wait on the open-air tram. What fun was awaiting us this time? A major meltdown from a two year old who hasn't napped? Well, a small one brewed, but we quashed it by telling Jonah, "It's just a tram", at which point he put his arms out to the side, and said, "It's just a tram!" And everything was alright with Jonah.
The trip back home was uneventful. Both boys slept until Josh screamed letting us know that he was hungry. I don't have nay pictures of that, but here's a super cute pic of the Rookie anyway...
Posted by Jon at April 29, 2007 08:46 PM