Saturday, September 27, was free admission day at the local zoo, so Tyrone, Elizabeth, and I loaded up into the car and headed over for a day of animal site-seeing. It was Elizabeth's first time to a zoo, my second ever, and Tyrone's umpteenth time. It was great --Elizabeth rode in her stroller, Tyrone pushed the stroller, and I took pictures. There was lots of wildlife to observe: lions, penguins, black swans, zebras, ducks, and many other animals. Even though Elizabeth probably had no clue (and probably couldn't see much either), Tyrone and I were still all over ourselves taking pictures of her next to cages and waterfalls that she didn't even know existed. Most likely, Elizabeth thought we were on a glorified and stinky walk in the park.....That is, until she noticed a large, rather fluffy, brown alpaca gazing down on her from its long neck. We were in the kiddy section of the zoo, a place where smaller children can chase ducks wandering around, pet penned up goats, and feed p
op-belly pigs. While standing next to the alpaca fence and taking pictures yet again, Elizabeth saw the tall creature over the brim of her stroller. When they're eyes met, her face scrunched up, she shut her eyes, and slowly, a wimpering wail poured from her mouth. She'd seen other animals before the zoo, dogs mostly, so we didn't know why she'd be scared of the alpaca. Perhaps because it was tall, weird looking, and it actually looked at her. Well, we tried consoling our baby girl, but eventually had to leave the alpaca behind and move on to something more suitable to Elizabeth's taste: bunnies. Not just any bunnies, but sleeping bunnies. No threat whatsoever, and because she'd seen these animals in her books before, they were less threatening.....apparently. Tyrone and I could only laugh, though, at Elizabeth's newly found phobia of llama looking animals. The rest of our trip to the zoo was mostly uneventful. We had a great time and look forward to the day Elizabeth can interact more the next time we go.
op-belly pigs. While standing next to the alpaca fence and taking pictures yet again, Elizabeth saw the tall creature over the brim of her stroller. When they're eyes met, her face scrunched up, she shut her eyes, and slowly, a wimpering wail poured from her mouth. She'd seen other animals before the zoo, dogs mostly, so we didn't know why she'd be scared of the alpaca. Perhaps because it was tall, weird looking, and it actually looked at her. Well, we tried consoling our baby girl, but eventually had to leave the alpaca behind and move on to something more suitable to Elizabeth's taste: bunnies. Not just any bunnies, but sleeping bunnies. No threat whatsoever, and because she'd seen these animals in her books before, they were less threatening.....apparently. Tyrone and I could only laugh, though, at Elizabeth's newly found phobia of llama looking animals. The rest of our trip to the zoo was mostly uneventful. We had a great time and look forward to the day Elizabeth can interact more the next time we go.
