Father's Day at the Zoo

Daddy had been talking for a while now about taking the kids to the Detroit Zoo. Finally, he decided to go on Father's Day! Brigitte came with us too. We planned to go in the early morning, before it got too hot outside, and also so the kids could have their early afternoon naps when we got home.

Our journey started out a bit late because we had to get in contact with Brigitte's mom to get her birth certificate. Then, I forgot our kids' birth certificates, so we had to go back home and get them (but that was only a minute or two away from home). Finally, when we crossed the Ambassador Bridge, we got hopelessly lost trying to follow the endless construction detours. Daddy had to stop and ask for directions twice. It took us about 2 hours from the time we left the house, until we pulled into the Zoo parking garage. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled when we were able to get out of the car!

Since it was lunch time by the time we arrived, we rented a wagon for Andrea to ride in, then went in search of food. Hot dogs, and shared french fries and cola, fortified us for the Zoo adventures ahead. I captured many pictures, and I'll try and explain/tell stories in between them:

Andrea rode in a rented wagon, but when she couldn't see the animals, Daddy picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Kevin relaxed in his stroller most of the time. He enjoyed looking at all the plants and people more than anything else.

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We saw a lot of animals, so I didn't get pictures of them all. We saw emus, capybaras, rheas, wild hogs, and anteaters on the first stage of our journey. I got a picture of the anteater. I didn't know they had such plumy tails!

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On the next stage of our journey, we saw donkeys, wild horses, a stork, a crane, prairie dogs, and bison. The Prairie Dog habitat was neat, because there was an underground tunnel the kids could go into to see it. Then they could peek out above ground, at prairie dog level! I only saw one prairie dog, but the girls saw some underground. You can see Andrea (little pink hat) peeking out of the observation bubble, below. You can also see Andrea and Brigitte peeking at each other in the second picture.

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On our way to the Arctic exhibit, we passed by the bald eagles. They are beautiful, majestic creatures. The picture doesn't do them justice.

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The best attraction at the zoo, by far, was The Arctic Ring of Life. It takes you down a winding path filled with plenty of tundra greenery and occasional samples of Inuit culture. You can also get an outside view of the polar bears and seals (I have a picture of each). But the highlight of the exhibit is definitely the Polar Passage. This is a clear tunnel that takes you right underwater into the polar bears' and seals' marine environment. While I was in there, a polar bear swam right over the top of us. Then, the polar bear came and sat down on top of the tunnel! It stretched out and took a rest right overhead! The seals weren't shy, either. I got a picture of two of them playing together, right near the side of the tunnel.

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When you exit the Polar passage, there's a little house with some polar bear and Arctic explorer artifacts. What's neat about that is that an entire wall of the house is made of glass, providing a view above and below the water, into the polar bear tank. Basically, you can go face to face with a polar bear, with only a bit of glass between you!

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The next part of journey took us into the Australian and African attractions. We were ultimately headed for Africa Station, to catch a ride on the Tauber Family Railroad, back to the opposite end of the zoo. On the way to the station, we saw: red kangaroos, a hippo, giraffes, flamingos, spoon bills, vultures, zebras, a peacock (just sitting on a fence!), and rhinos.

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It was on our way to the giraffe exhibit that a police officer began stopping people and saying, "Severe thunderstorms are coming. Gusty winds and hail are expected. If you've got little ones, head for shelter now!" We had already seen the dark clouds and heard a few rumbles in the distance, and we were making our way to the railroad station. When I heard this, we really hurried. We got to the Africa Station, got our tickets, and were waiting in line. Andrea was tired and impatient, and she REALLY wanted that train ride. Well, when the train arrived, they wouldn't let it run because of lightning. Andrea was devastated, and put up a wail like you can't imagine. Then, we tried to make a run for it. But no sooner had we left the train station overhang than the storm struck. So, we had to huddle in the nearby food court with many other disgruntled zoo patrons. Andrea continued to sob, because she wanted her train ride. Brigitte was nervous, but did her best to soothe Andrea. Kevin, unbelievably, was LAUGHING--he thought the storm was very exciting! I, meanwhile, was trying to shield the kids from the wind and rain, and keep Andrea and Brigitte calm. I sent Daddy to get ice cream, to soothe and distract the girls. The storm only lasted about 15 minutes, but it was wild! A lot of leaves and debris were blown off the trees, and the rain pounded down (sometimes sideways!). However, by the time we finished our ice cream treats, the storm had passed, and we were able to continue our adventure.

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When the storm had passed, the train was running again. Andrea was, in her own words, "SO HAPPY!" She and Brigitte sat together, and Daddy, Kevin and I sat across from them. The girls took in the relaxing ride, enjoying the scenery. Andrea was pumping her arm up and down, and saying, "Choo, choo!"

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The train took us back near the entrance to the zoo, and we decided to call it a day. We had originally planned to walk up the other side of the zoo, and catch the train back again. But everyone was pretty worn out. We missed seeing the monkeys, lions, tigers, and bears ("oh my!"), and the penguins and reptiles. I guess we'll just have to go back another time! We stopped at the gift store and picked up a few souvenirs before heading home. Andrea got a pretty flamingo hat.

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The ride home was uneventful, thank goodness. We all went home and had a nap! I looked out the window after my nap, and saw a double rainbow in the dark sky. I felt it was symbolic of our day: there were some stormy moments, but overall, it was a good adventure.