The Full Day

Jeri and I had such a full day yesterday that I literally collapsed when we got home and was asleep around 9:30, just waking now, 4:30 a.m., to write this entry.  (The very large martini Tom fixed for me may have been partly to blame!) But it was a lot of fun, and I got something crossed off my bucket list.  Not bad for a day.

First, I took my little girl to the zoo.

Santa Barbara has a nice little zoo, covering 30 acres which, in spots, overlooks the Pacific Ocean.  It's not a big zoo, with only 160 species of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects, but the setting is lovely.

I had been here once before, when I came with Walt, Tom and Bri.  That day I was rushing home, so only had about 30 minutes to spend, most of it struggling up the hill to see the giraffes.  The thing about this zoo is that everything seems to be uphill, which is a struggle for this fat body. This time I was smart and brought my cane, which helped a lot going up hills and up stairs.

First off, I got to cross something off my bucket list.

This is Michael (the giraffe, not the kid).  Last time we were here, I wanted to feed a giraffe, but the line was too long and I had too little time, but this time we were the only ones there so Michael and I bonded over lettuce.  Jeri fed him too.

Then we meandered over hill and dale looking at the animals, the meerkats, the gorillas, the warm weather penguins, the bald eagles, etc.  I knew we would eventually come to the elephants, and I was sad about that.  Many zoos around the world are changing their elephant habitats and giving them more room to roam, which, while not ideal, is at least better for the animals.  Sadly, Santa Barbara has no room to build a larger elephant enclosure, and so we saw these two very sad, very bored looking elephants, Suzi and Mac.

The one on the left would pick up a trunk full of grass and then just let it lie there, curled in his trunk as if it was too much energy to bring it to his mouth. I felt sad for them.  The zoo facts say that "Our elephants are like you! Suzi and Mac like to paint, play the harmonica, do yoga, and even play soccer!" But elephants shouldn't be "like us," they should be like other elephants, and they weren't born to paint or play soccer!

Before we left the zoo, Jeri insisted we had to have ice cream, so she bought us cones.

She actually had hoped for soft serve ice cream, but they didn't have any.  This was good enough.  Some little kid who looked to be about Lacie's age saw me from across the courtyard and came running over, hand outstretched, saying "mine! mine!"  But I was a mean person and didn't give him my cone!

We found a nice little grill down by the beach and stopped for lunch and then drove to see my college friends, Dick and Gerry.  They are Ned's godparents and live very close to Tom and Laurel, in fact they pass their house every Sunday when they walk to Mass.  

It was a nice getting caught up, over a bottle of Portuguese rosé, which I managed to spill all over the place.  ever the klutz.

We had been invited to "family movie night" at Tom & Laurel's and got there in time for Jeri to help Brianna make pizza.

I sat with Lacie, while she drew me a picture.

We ate our pizza in front of the TV as we watched the Disney film, Little Bear 2  Since I had somehow missed the original Little Bear I tried to figure out the back story, but it is basically the story of a guy turned into a bear, who is still in love with the human girl he left behind and her search to sever her bond with him so she can marry a man...only to discover that she still loves her old friend, even though he is a bear.  I won't spoil the ending for those who are planning to watch this movie (I know you all are), but suffice to say that at the end, Jeri, Laurel and I were in tears, and Bri was definitely caught up in it.

After the movie, Bri made cupcakes in her new Easy Bake Oven.  She and aunt Jeri licked the mixing bowl while the cupcakes cooked.

When they were baked, Bri frosted them and served us each one for dessert.

Jeri and I headed home after the girls went to bed and the rest is history.  Tonight we are going back to Tom & Laurel's for Mac 'n' Cheese night.  Some of you will know why.