Nathan's trip to the Zoo

Every good trip begins with a train ride. To be more precise, the trip actually begins with a hot chocolate from Nick's Starbucks (look closely, you'll see remnants of Nathan's drink trickling down Nathan's chin). Anyway, after the hot cocoa, Daddy headed to the car, but unfortunately, Nick's power as Dad was trumped by Nathan's demand for a train ride. Grandpa J., you would have been proud of the way Nathan insisted on riding the light rail. But, as soon as Nick gave in to Nathan's demands, he behaved angelically, waiting like an adult on the station platform.


Unfortunately, like all public transportation, the light rail tends to drop you off a little further from your destination than you would hope to be. This little walk, however, is beautiful: traipsing through Hermann Park while headed to the Zoo.


For each of Nick's steps, Nathan is required to take three steps. Nick strolls. Nathan trots. About halfway to the zoo, Nathan needed a rest. In typical Nathan fashion, Daddy was required to join him on this hiatus. No sooner did Nick sit down than Nathan was ready to go again. This is not shocking...it's just how things go.


Finally, at the zoo! In the Natural Encounters exhibit, anyone not severely overweight is given the opportunity to crawl through a tunnel while surrounded by piranhas. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get Nathan into the tunnel without Daddy's accompaniment. Finally, having made it exactly to the halfway point, Nathan froze in fear and refused to move either forward or backward. Nick positioned himself at the far end and tried to encourage Nathan, "Come on, Nathan...let's come this way!" After several minutes, the tube became quite congested, and an entire crowd was joining in with Nick. (Let's say this all together now) "Come on, Nathan! You can do it! I think I can, I think I can!"

After the Natural Exhibit, we escape through the back door and visit the meerkats. This is one of Nathan's favorite exhibits. He is particularly taken with the posture that they assume (see picture above).

"How does a meerkat sit?"

Right next to the meerkat exhibit, there is a HUGE turtle statue. This is, perhaps, one of the only places on earth a person can ride one of these things.

Time for a break and insisting that Daddy join him. "Daddy, sit please!"

Unlike days at the San Diego Zoo, the Houston zoo is generally safe. However, today Boo the Bear suffered many severe casualties. The first of many incidents occurs here, as Boo is dragged by the throat through pine needles, stones, etc.

"Aaaaaah-men!" Prayers for popcorn. God knows that this is one of Nathan's favorite foods.

And he is serious about it. Notice casualty #2 as Boo is hung, once again by the throat, while Nathan carefully selects only the butteriest kernels to consume.

The mid-Popcorn prayer. "May none of those kernely parts get stuck in me, may I not need floss, and may the bag stay full like the Israelites oil."

Boo, unconscious, strolling through the zoo.

This was the highlight of the day. What you are witnessing is a two-day-old giraffe. It's tiny...only about Nick's height. Nick says, "Baby!" Nathan says, "No."

The proud mother...she regained her tall, slender feature rather well, don't you think?

It's been rainy in Houston. Nathan loves puddles. This particular pond left Nathan thrilled and soaked. He went back and forth through the water, loving every minute of it and adding insult to Boo's injury. People without children would say things like, "Aww! Puddles ARE fun, aren't they buddy?" and "Way to go! We wish we could splash, too!" Parents with children would attempt to force their kids to look the other way telling them things like, "Wow, isn't the grass over THAT WAY beautiful!!"

Like a scene post-hurricane. Nathan loved it! Boo is demanding a tetanus shot.

Nathan taking another break and filling up on more carbs. Nathan abandoned caring for Boo in favor of holding the popcorn. Boo was thrilled! For the first time all trip his circulation wasn't being impeded by an arm around his neck.

But now he is thirsty. Daddy is kind of stingy, so the $3 coke machine at the zoo was pretty much out of the question. Nathan was hoping for a miracle, but unfortunately, the last guy who paid 3 bucks for a beverage remembered to claim it.

More popcorn. At this point Nathan is getting pretty full.

So, Nathan shared his popcorn with the ducks. This made them pretty happy, as a little technicality usually reduces their fare to those brown pieces of kibble that cost twenty-five cents for a handful.

Running!

Uh-oh! Nathan accidentally spilled some of his popcorn on the ground. This was, of course, distressing. And so (we hate to confess this), he salvaged what he could in a manner that only our dog would be proud of:

Yes, this is our son eating a piece of popcorn off the ground at a public zoo. Mommy wasn't there to stop the process, and Daddy just thought it was too funny not to snap a picture.

Success! No Popcorn Left Behind!

Back to the meerkats. We told you that these were Nathan's favorites. They are rather cute, I guess. Between you and me, each time I see them I start humming "Hakunamatata."

Another meerkat pose. A really tall meerkat, I guess. We often laugh about how the meerkat's hold their arms folded and in front of their chests. Nathan only "sort of" gets the idea.

This is the moment of truth. Time to leave the zoo. Can you see the disappointment? Can you feel the sadness?

Look at this dejected little boy walking back through the park toward the train. He grasps his popcorn tightly as if somehow he can keep a little piece of this wonderful day with him.

Nathan is never sad for long. Something made him smile toward the end of his hike through the park. Nick regularly takes Nathan on a special outing when he has a day off. It is good for them to spend some 'guy time' together, and Nathan loves it. I remember treasuring one-on-one time with my Dad, too. In fact, I still like one-on-one time with my Dad.


After this long day all Nathan wanted to do was sleep! He curled up on the couch and took a nap.

This post has been centered on Nathan, but I promise that sometime soon I will post pictures of sweet Nia. They are tied for first-place in this house, but Nathan is older and does more things of interest, so if this blog seems a bit lop-sided, that would be why.