Rodents of Unusual Size

Part of our Seattle trip included a drive to Point Defiance. In all the time we lived over there, we apparently didn't get out much. I LOVED Point Defiance. It's a park with a zoo and aquarium. There are lots of places with trails, they have flower gardens, a pagoda and a great view of the mountains. Honestly, I think I would've gone to the park every weekend while I was there. It was beautiful.

The entire drive around the park N and I were trying to decide how Zoe would react. Would she love it or hate it? I've never been a big fan of the zoo because of the smell. At the age of 4 the San Diego Zoo was not full of wonder and cool animals, but bad smells and a not-so-fun time. You see, I'm high maintenance. I like pleasant smells.

N on the other hand loves all things animal. He was doing his best to convince me on our need for a hamster. I told him he could have one once the divorce is final. Because those things are rodents and I don't do rodents. I barely do fish. He'd have to divorce me to get a hamster.

He's decided to live a life without pets. Knowing what a big animal lover he is, he must love me a WHOLE bunch.

We met up with our friends Ami and Shawn. Their son Aiden is three weeks older than Zoe. We were excited to see them at their zoo playdate.

The first thing we came to was the lemurs and meerkats. All I could think of what the song, "we like to move it move it." Although these little creatures were less musical. They didn't hold much of Zoe's interest. The slide at the playground won out.

Nevermind that she got stuck about half way down.

Part of the playground is a petting zoo. This is where Zoe is totally put to the test. Is she like me or N? Apparently she's like me. The closer that she and N got to the goats, the bigger the tears. I think N has some scratches on his neck from where Zoe was clawing at him to get away.

Aiden on the other hand couldn't get enough pellets to feed the goats. He has no fear.

You'll notice no pictures of Zoe anywhere near the goats or Aiden. She kept a safe distance and yelled for him to stop or for the goats to leave. I couldn't quite make out which it was.

It was then time for the arctic tundra. Also known as polar bears, seals, walrus and whales. Neither Aiden or Zoe are sure which way they should tell their dads to go.

The seals and whales moved a bit too fast for Zoe. She was NOT interested in them. We went to the walrus glass. The girl loves her some walrus. E.T. is the male and weighs at least 1.5 tons. Priscilla is the other walrus we saw and she would come up to the glass to swim for Zoe. I'm not sure how big she is since girls don't discuss weight. Despite the fact that these animals were like 50 times Zoe's size, she was totally in love. She would talk to them, tell them to come back. I can't be sure, but I think she blew kisses. We got some good video that I'll have to post.

Once we pried the kids away from the walrus tank, we checked out the polar bears. She LOVED this guy. Quite frankly, it looks terrifying to me.

I think the next part is what I hate most about the zoo. You see all the zoo workers love these animals the way I love Zoe. They think just because I'm at the zoo, I love animals too. In reality I'm just a mother trying to be brave for her daughter. I prefer plexiglass and cages. You can imagine how quickly my heart started beating when we came across Patrick.

N was all up front getting pictures. It was like he didn't realize that Patrick had quills of death. Or that the caretaker laughed about how sharp his teeth were and she has some scars. Like it was just another day with her friend. The sweat started to bead on my forehead as the thought of a porcupine attack. I had a hard time getting N away from Patrick. He was totally in love. I could see N thinking about ways to convince me that we need a Patrick. He knew there was no hope Patrick would come home with us when Patrick's caretakers said he was a rodent.

Didn't make him stop from running up to Buckley, another rodent of unusual size. At least this one was on a leash. And didn't have quills of death. It almost made you think you could get one as a pet. Then he started clawing at his caretaker. More beads of sweat and some black spots in my vision.

Once I calmed down and were a safe distance from the large rodents, we found a nearby cafe. We grabbed some lunch with a peacock who felt the need to be the 7th inhabitant at our table. N thought it was cool they were so close. I began freaking out. Not as much as when I discovered around some lattice work was a snake tank. It's safe to say I inhaled my food and willed myself to not think about "The Birds" or "Snakes on a Plane."

Quickly I ran around the outdoor cafe to the aquarium. Also known as sanctuary with plexiglass. They have a really cool Pacific Northwest Rivers display. I saw all the things you'll find in the waters up here. Which again, makes me glad for swimming pools and the YMCA. Some of those star fish are bigger than a car tire. Freaky!

They didn't hold much of Zoe's attention. Apparently if you're not 1.5 tons of swimming gracefulness, you mean nothing to her.

Unless you're a shark.

The girl loves her some underwater predators. Perhaps it's because the sand sharks look like they're sleeping. We could barely get her away from the shark tank. She was totally impressed. For once she and Aiden liked the same thing!

She even likes to pretend we got eaten by one. I scream, she laughs.


Daddy makes some face.

The zoo was a great time. Next visit we'll see the monkeys, lions and tigers. One a cool day with a slight breeze so I don't have to smell anything unpleasant.