Our pre-Easter trip
gave us three nights with son Walt and his family. The visit also supplied an
opportunity to tag along on one day’s adventures of the “staycation,” the
stay-at-home vacation ” daughter-in-law Sarah and son Walt had mapped out for
their offspring to experience Atlanta’s attractions.
Baboo and Nana, AKA
Walter and Linda, tagged along for Monday’s trip to Zoo Atlanta. Walt worked
most of the week and joined the fun on Good Friday for a trip to the aquarium.
From the left,
Stella, Nate with Flat Stanley, Luke and Charlie pause for a photo in Flamingo
Plaza at Zoo Atlanta.
Sarah’s temporary
exit to locate Baboo was the perfect chance for capturing pix of the Fab Four.
The kids and I waited just inside the entrance. The girls skipped and twirled
in the yet-to-be-crowded Flamingo Plaza.
The boys, true
Skupien males, pored over their maps of the zoo, charting the quickest route
that would take them to the monitor lizard and the World of Reptiles. Both boys
had asked for their own personal copies of the zoo map, and they proudly lined
up for the photo with their maps on display.
Nate was diligent
about keeping Flat Stanley involved. Notice Stanley peeking out over the top of
Nate’s map. The grands were back in school this week, and I am looking forward
to a report on the reception accorded Nate’s completion of the Flat Stanley
assignment. Flat Stanley is a
1964 children's book written by Jeff Brown. I think I need to put it on my
to-read list.
Sarah makes memories.
Then we were on our
way. The lush foliage in the photo above was one of the great design features
of the zoo. Mature trees shaded much of the connecting walkways, and there were
even frequent tags identifying plants large and small.
The spacious paved
paths were another design plus. Even as the crowds grew thicker, we were able
to maneuver my lightweight transporter wheelchair with little difficulty. At
least that was my impression, but I was just sitting in my chariot, a lady of
leisure. Husband Walter provided the push power, so his take on the ease of
maneuvering in increasingly more crowded conditions might be different, especially since there was often one of the grands hitching a ride on my
lap.
Charlie and Stella
encounter sheep in the petting zoo.
Even though we hadn’t gone to the reptile house first, the boys as well as the girls enjoyed the petting
zoo.
Cuddly looking guest from China
Unlike some of the
creatures in outdoor living arrangements, the pandas were quite active in their
air-conditioned indoor habitat. What a treat to see these real-life mammals,
the species that was the model for the teddy bear of my childhood. Okay, I
admit it, the teddy bear of my teen years, too. In fact, I slept with that
teddy bear until I got married.
Nate makes sure Flat
Stanley’s visit to the pandas is documented.
Nate’s photo of the
spitting red cobra
Our guys could have
spent hours among the reptiles. But there were orangutans, gorillas,
giraffes, emus, a rhinoceros, elephant, kangeroo, tigers and more to see. The kids
were also looking forward to their choice between a train ride around the zoo
or a ride on the carousel, populated with creatures of the wild instead of
horses.
Looks like such fun! And a real Panda, you just can't get any better than that!
ReplyDeletei would love to see this zoo and i would be in their with the kids petting those sweet animals. i even like to view reptiles but only when contained away from me. staycation is a super idea.
ReplyDeleteWe took grandchildren and children to the zoo at differnt times. Always fun to see things from the perspective of a child, or a Flat Stanley. Dianne
ReplyDeleteThat Flat Stanley is so cute! Good job! I love the photos and write-up today, as always.
ReplyDelete"Kudos" to you and Walter for making the trip to the zoo with the little ones! Ed and I chose to sit out the recent zoo trip of our little ones, even though we were invited along. We had to stay home and "chicken sit"!
ReplyDeleteFlat Stanley appeared to be enjoying his trip :)