Oozing at the Zoo

Saturday we were invited to a birthday party at the zoo. Sounded like it would be a great time, and we'd get to see family we hadn't seen in quite a while. Well, going to the zoo in the middle of the day on the hottest day of the year with no cloud coverage isn't such a good plan. We did have a great time, but man was it hot. I reapplied sunscreen at least twice during the two hours we were there because I could feel myself burning through it. When we entered the zoo it was pretty funny because there was a line where the shade met the no shaded zone on the concrete and everyone just stopped. We all waited for a good 10 minutes before we edged forward into the no-shade zone and then hurried to the closest indoor exhibit which was quite crowded. I am sure they were just doing the same thing we were. Then, we were nudged forward by the children who so eagerly wanted to climb the giant ramp to see/feed the giraffes. We raced quickly to the nearest tree and watched the few very brave parents endure the hot climb. My niece finally convinced me to make the trek to the top of the bridge where we stayed all of two seconds while the giraffe hid underneath us for shade. We climed back down and found the concession stand who sold powerade which tasted like medicine. Finally we all decided we'd seen as many animals as we could stand and headed home learning a few great lessons; Don't have zoo parties in the summer at lunch time; Don't have children with summer birthdays; Don't forget to sunscreen your feet and neck; Don't underestimate the power of children.