A cool day at the zoo

younger brother doesn’t seem to mind that they are not together (as they typically are), and my youngest is overjoyed that he gets to spend more time with her, and to have her more to himself. She’s the eldest. A natural ringleader that the band of boys follow (her younger brother, her younger halfbrother, and my two boys, who are both younger as well).

So many teens are passionate about animals. The zoo was a perfect attraction in her case – passionate about the details of animal life of all types, from the oceans to the desert to the sky, each habitat and housing design offered points that fascinated her. Everything else fell away – yes, including electronics – as we made our way around the zoo.

We started off in our usual fashion – the beautiful, dark sapphire of the aquarium. We petted and fed the bat rays (from the eagle ray family, also related to the string ray), velvety soft and always hungry. (HINT: I recommend buying tickets for zoo extras at the aquarium that is typically quieter – tickets are good for purchasing food for the rays, the train that winds overhead through a good portion of the zoo, nectar to feed the colourful lorikeets, and the amusement park-style rides There are line-ups everywhere for tickets, typically – but purchasing at the aquarium is a good time-saver.)

Then, we took the train ride that always gives us a good glimpse of parts of the zoo where at times the animals are more challenging to spot. If it’s warm out, they’re usually sleeping, and we have the visual advantage by touring around the tree-tops. A surprising element this year was Granby Zoo’s brand new Dinozoo exhibit – a must-see for all dinosaur fans – featuring robotic dinosaurs (created to scale) some of which we are able to control tail, breathing, neck and head movements, as well as their cry. Winding around past the enormous T-rex gave us plenty of reason to modify our usual route to explore the Dinozoo from the ground as well.

It was there that we lost my elevenand-a-half year-old.

Emerging from Dinozoo without him, I sent my stepdaughter back in to do the circuit while I waited at the exit. When she returned without him, I did the circuit again myself. When I did not find him, I told a zoo employee who called another colleague of hers (Benoit) to help us. We left Dinozoo with Benoit, searching the food court for the vibrant tropical hat with the word ALOHA printed across it that would hopefully make him stand out. We stood at the entrance to Africa (our next stop, that we knew he was aware of) It wasn’t long before my stepdaughter spotted the rather long-faced child and jogged over to catch his eye and bring him to us. We thanked Benoit, we went over the rules again – 1) We’ll never leave an exhibit without each other. 2) If someone gets lost, find a zoo employee and tell them. I started breathing again.

The lorikeet attraction is another spot that kids seem to lose all sense of anything else but wonder. The small, rainbow-coloured birds are free to fly around the inner and outer enclosure, where nectar may be purchased to share with the feathered friends.

While food prices on site are surprisingly fairly reasonable, I always save onsite eating for fun snacks (Beavertails this year), but do lunch at the vehicle. We laid out our make-shift picnic right on the asphalt, and somehow managed to avoid the swoop of sea gulls. Veggies and dip, crackers, apple sauce, fruit, water, the idea was to fill our tummies with good food that would still leave us feeling comfortable enough to tackle the Amazoo waterpark with gusto.

(HINT: Avoid two-piece bathing suits ........... last year I spent most of my time in the wave pool trying to keep my act together – by hanging onto the tankini I had thought so modest, as it attempted to depart from my body. When we realized that my stepdaughter only had a rather smallish two-piece bathing suit, she was happy to stop with me on the way and buy a one-piece.)

Gusto we had. Warm weather, we didn’t. We went to the spacious parking lot bathrooms to change anyway (another good hint to avoid the chaos of the locker rooms). There is an entrance directly from the parking lot, so instead of winding our way back through the zoo again, we used that entrance. It was chilly, and once we were wet we found ourselves doing the opposite of most years – getting into the water to warm up instead of cool down!

This year, for the first year ever, we waded as far into the wave pool as we were allowed. I thought of the early years of taking my boys to the zoo, how terrified I was in there, as my eldest threw himself directly into the waves face-first, almost holding my breath the entire time. Here we were this year with me in the lead, as far in as I could go and

still keep an eye on everybody. We had a great time together – I marked time with growing people who will be in this stage for such a fleeting period. I looked at them a little longer, trying to take it in more, trying to remember more so that I can revisit it in the future, when we are no longer here.

The bonus of a chilly afternoon was quick access to almost everything at Amazoo. The downside was chattering teeth and permanent goose bumps.

We managed to stay for the same amount of time as we typically did. My youngest and my stepdaughter even managed a descent on each of the three waterslides that were installed last year – the Ara, the Piranha and the Anaconda.

Best of all, and most selfishly on my part, I got to see wonder on three faces that are so important to me. I experienced appreciation and was pleased with them following the rules we set down together. As they get older, our experiences together change, but somehow they have gotten richer. Thank you Granby Zoo for another great visit. It was so much fun I think we might swing a second one this year...because this time it’s me that really wants to experience it all over again.