Lions and tigers and bears (and OTTERS)!

Today was wonderful, but it's going to take a year before I'm willing to do that again. Which is good, because Mom wants to take the boys to the zoo again next year. My nephews are currently calling themselves Chip and Dip, or sometimes George and Alabaster. Chip/George is 6 and a quarter, and Dip/Alabaster is 3 and a half. The fractions are very important, as are the self-selected names. They both did very well at the zoo. There were no meltdowns, no tantrums, both of the boys stayed close, as Gramma requested, and there was only limited begging from Chip starting with "I want..." And after Gramma repeated that at the end of the day he could choose one thing, he quit asking. Smart kid!

We started with the zoo's summer exhibit, Touch. Alabaster got either bored or nervous, I'm not sure which, and went outside with Gramma. Chip, however, stayed for ages, hand palm up in the water the way the docents told everyone, letting what seemed like dozens of curious stingrays rub against his hand. I had no idea stingrays were so cute and so curious and friendly. Hopefully, I got a few good pics, since I took dozens.



In the five hours we were there, the only area we missed was the monkey house/big cat house area. We did see a lion, two tigers, a leopard, lots of bears, lots of reindeer, camels, wolves, a bald eagle, sharks, rays, a beaver, flamingos, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, porcupines, colobus monkeys, orangutans, and, the very last animal we saw on the entire tour of the zoo... *drumroll* OTTERS!

Thank goodness Chip and Dip are cooperative with photographs. I know the ones they're in are going to come out. Some of the other pics I took are in doubt. At the wolf exhibit, we were watching one of the wolves sleeping up on a hillside when the other one came over, and the two exchanged nuzzles and licks and head butts for about five minutes. Of course, while that was going on, I was well back from the glass and letting my nephews and other kidlets look, so I couldn't get a pic. A few minutes later, when I went back, there was only one wolf there, and he had one leg up and was engaged in some industrious personal grooming. I do not need pictures of that, I can see it ten to twelve times a day at home. *rolls eyes*

The otters, cute as they were, were difficult as all get out to photograph. I was having trouble with my camera batteries dying, and I swear the otters were taunting me by climbing out of the pool and posing cutely on the banks, then diving into the water just as the camera finally snapped the pics. Aggravating otters, just like all my Otterbuckets friends often are. :-p



The best part of the day was when we were driving home, with two sleepy and sticky kids in the back, and Mom gave me all the credit for having the idea to go to the Cleveland Zoo and for coming with them and "making it possible." I don't need praise for spending time with my nephews, but the two little voices from the back saying, "Thank you, Auntie Jammies" was priceless.