Thursday, May 29, 2008
Field Trip: The Toledo Zoo
As a rule, I always prefer the Detroit Zoo, but for what it is, Aiden & I had a great time South of the Border today. He rode down on the bus w/ his friends & I went w/ his friend's mom, Barbara. The 2 of us had a nice time chit-chatting on the way down & then we each got a 2nd kid w/ whom we were to check stuff out. I got this kid, Donald who was lovin' (even more than Aiden & me) to stick his fingers in the assholes of the animal statues that are found everywhere you turn. At 1 point, he rubbed 1 w/ 2 fingers like he was really going to town on it. Of course we told him to stop, but behind his back, Barbara & I were cracking up. She then mentioned it to their teacher who laughed & then said, "Andre, maybe you could have that talk w/ the kids." My immediate response was "Which talk is that? The anal talk? I don't think I'm ready to explain the thrill of ass-to-mouth to a bunch of 6 year olds." That was a pleasant conversation & it confirmed my belief that Ms. Peterson may be a bit more of a freak than she lets on in the classroom. Other funs things included the great ape make-out session, the bear-sloth that was anything but slothlike, & the veggie burger, onion rings & pudding we had in the centeral restaurant place. Before you settle in for the season finale of Lost, take a look @ a few snapshots from the zoo.
The kids in our group
A pretty sweet dude w/ whom I had a staring contest... he won
What's the name of the eagle on the Muppet Show?
2 elephants in a space much too small for 1 elephant
Hey you... on the other side of this glass... piss off!
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5 comments:
It's great that you can go on field trips again. Donald seems like the right kind of kid to be in your group.
I don't know why Ypsi schools always go to the Toledo Zoo. It's nice but the exhibits are so close together, it feels so crowded and chaotic. The sprawlingness of Detroit would make it easier to keep track of the kids, and the elephants are another reason to support the Detroit Zoo:
"In May 2004, Michigan’s Detroit Zoo announced its precedent-setting decision to permanently close its elephant exhibit and retire two female Asian elephants, Winky and Wanda, to a sanctuary. The Detroit Zoo is the first zoo to voluntarily close its elephant exhibit for ethical reasons and the eighth U.S. zoo to stop exhibiting elephants in recent years.
In a memorandum that explained the decision, Detroit Zoo Director Ron Kagan stated, “Now we understand how much more is needed to be able to meet all the physical and psychological needs of elephants in captivity, especially in a cold climate.”
Both Winky, aged 51, and Wanda, aged 46, were captured in the wild as babies and have been companions at the Detroit Zoo since 1994. Among the few lucky captive elephants in North America to find retirement at a sanctuary, Winky and Wanda will have the opportunity to lead lives similar to those of elephants in the wild. Thanks to the Detroit Zoo’s humane decision, Winky and Wanda will enjoy full, enriching years of retirement, roaming through hundreds of acres of natural habitat in the company of many other elephants.
Under Director Ron Kagan, the Detroit Zoo has been a pioneer in animal welfare. It is one of the few zoos that takes in rescued animals and publicly denounces the mistreatment of animals in circuses."
I imagine the closeness is one of the reasons schools (not just Ypsi, but most West Side Suburbs) go to Toledo. W/ stuff so small and close, people can see a lot of stuff... eventhough it's so crowded. It seems set up to gear itself towards kids though. Maybe they have some special school rate that beats Detroit.
Sam. The eagle's name is Sam.
i see someone else remembers the eagle's name... that is the most interesting zoo story... fingering the statues... even i don't do that....
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