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On Sunday, Jim and I took Dylan to the zoo. Let me start by saying that I love the Pittsburgh Zoo. One family that I worked for had a pass to the zoo, and I took the girls there so many times that I knew the animals' names. "Hey Jomo! How's it hanging?"
It's a beautiful zoo, and it is laid out well, (except maybe they could have put that hill by the bears at the beginning, because by that point, the adults, err I mean kids don't have the energy to go up a friekin' hill). I took Dylan to the zoo many times last year, but I was looking forward to seeing how he would react now that he is older.
Jim and I figured that since it was Memorial Day weekend, that most people would be out of town and the zoo would be mostly empty. Apparently, due to the astronomical gas prices, the only place the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH could afford to go was to the zoo. Yes, I swear the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH was there. I have never seen so many people at that zoo, and I have been there when it was pretty crowded.
In order for Dylan to actually see any animals, we had to take him out of the stroller, and put him on Jim's shoulders, before the two of them pushed their way through the mass of humanity. That left me to navigate my way through the maze of strollers . As I bumped, and was bumped into, I started to notice a pattern. The further we went into the zoo, the more and more miserable the adults' faces became, including my own! It was hot, and I was sweaty, and people kept TOUCHING ME!! (Have I mentioned I'm a bit claustrophobic?)
This is how it was going...in my head...
"Are you kidding me? You have to stand right there? You can't move about 2 inches to the right so I can get this dang stroller out of this crowd of people? EWWW! YOU! Behind me! Could you stop breathing on the back of my neck?! You're grossing me out! (Bump) Okay, that's the third person to run into me and not apologize. Get me outta here! I can't breathe! GAG! That hairy guy just wiped his sweaty arm against mine! I'm going to be sick. Where are Jim and Dylan? I lost them again. Is this my stroller I'm pushing?"
Yep, pretty much like that. At one point we came to a Y, and Jim asked, "Which way?" I answered, "Well, to the left is Kid's Kingdom, and to the right is home". Want to guess which way Jim wanted to go?
*I have an interesting little addition to this charming story. The day that we decided to go to the zoo, along with the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, the zoo was robbed. That's right - robbed. Some guy robbed a zoo employee in broad daylight, right around closing time. We probably smiled at him as we passed him on our way out. The news report said he got away with between 30-40 Thousand dollars!! From a Zoo robbery! Who knew zoo's brought in that kind of cash? Well, I guess when the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH turns out, big money is made.
I don't know about you, but when I think about family-friendly activities, armed robbery is always involved. Now, I'm not telling all of you out of towners this to scare you, and prevent you from ever coming to our wonderful zoo. Then, again, if you don't come maybe the next time I go, I'll be able to get close enough to actually see some of the animals.