To make the last walking play date with Melissa & Jack extra special, we ended up meeting at one of the local State Parks where in addition to fresh air and good company, we could all enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was awesome! Mother Nature was especially good to us with sunshine and temps in the 70's.
Not wanting the fun to end, after our walk, we delayed our farewell a bit longer by heading across the street to the Alligator Farm. The boys were so excited to visit their animal friends. Baylor channeled his inner Steve Irwin & bravely touched the gator's tongue. Let's hope he's not quite as trusting of gator's that aren't made of concrete!
Thanks to some nice thick glass and well-constructed fencing & guard rails, I didn't have to find out that particular day whether Baylor is a future alligator-whisperer.
I'm not sure whether you can see it, but the boys are admiring a bird exhibit in this photo. While very beautiful, that particular bird lacks manners and pecks at little boys' faces when they approach to admire his bright feathers. Again, thank goodness for thick glass! The boys seemed to enjoy the bird's sour attitude. Evidently, face-pecking is very funny to toddlers.
As we wandered along the boardwalk through the swamp exhibit, we were trailed by alligators that were essentially begging for food. It wasn't quite as eery as our last visit because I knew what to expect. The gators could care less about whether we humans taste like chicken. They just want you to spend a quarter & toss them some dog food pellets. Although, I'm sure they'd settle for just about anything that fell into the water. It's not like they paused to inspect what they were chomping at when they saw something hit the water's surface. I kept a tight grip on Baylor during that portion of the adventure.
What I did find alarming was the sight of a vulture eating what appeared to be the rotting carcass of a zebra! I mean, come on! Is that sort of exhibit really necessary? Can't we leave that sort of educational lesson to the imagination or random road trip sightings. I don't remember seeing something this gross at the zoo when growing up, and yet somehow, I know what role vultures play in the world.
As needless as I found that display to be, this sign really speaks volumes. Thank you for the politically correct explanation of the grotesque sight!
During this visit, I also learned that like alligators, tortoises much prefer a huge pile of dog food to natural produce like lettuce. Go figure!
Oh, and monkeys really aren't amused by a toddler's impersonation of them!
Before calling it a day and saying the final farewells, we made a stop by the playground. The boys were tettering on the thin line between pleasant and tantrums fueled by exhaustion. We decided to push our luck and time together just a bit more.
Eventually, we ran out of stall tactics and were forced to hug our friends & part ways for what will likely be a lengthy period of time. The boys are lucky to be little & completely unaware of what that day's farewells really meant. At least we as the moms have Facebook & blogs to help keep in touch!
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