A Trip to The Zoo

"I'm on my way to the zoo, the zoo, the zoo, the zoo, the zoo
The monkey cage is nearly full but I think there's still room for you!"
Robertson Davies
A Leaven of Malice

It was one of those ideas that seemed like a good idea at the time. Go to the Zoo member picnic, have supper with thousands of other Zoo supporters, see some animals, do some fun activities, ride the Zoo train and go home in time for bed, having had dinner. And the kids were so excited they are literally jumping up and down for joy. The first sign that it might go wrong appeared when we were walking to the zoo. It did seem as if there were a lot of cars parked along the street, by the way. Christina mentioned that the sun was going down. "No sweetie", I said, "its just cloudy outside". Did I remember the weather report mentioning rain???? No, I distinctly remember the weather report NOT mentioning rain. We turn into the parking lot. The line up seemed rather long. No as I look closer, the line up looks very very long. Christina and PJ attempt to bud in front of .....everyone. We wait in line for fifteen minutes, short considering the size. As we wait in line I am reminded again and again that the mosquito population in South Bend is the worst apparently in 18 years. We get to the front of the line and feel the first drops of rain. We decide to go into the reptiles and small mammals building and let the rain pass. It doesn't pass. We decide to take a trip on the zoo train and either go home and get pizza or get our zoo lunch. We get on the train and are told that the train is shutting down. We get off and go get our lunch. The kids are not happy to not be taking a trip on the zoo train. We stand in line for food. Now it is really pouring. Some children are running up and down the slippery hill and PJ and Christina join them. Darn it, where is Christina when I'm holding a bag, her doll, three lunches and three cups. There is an accident .....and....there goes supper. Pizza for dinner it is. All the way home Christina complains that she never wanted to go to the zoo......As I write this, its a quarter after nine and I'm still not sure when I'm geting the kids to bed.