Yesterday during the mid-day we went to the Denver Zoo. Well, we were going to go to the zoo but the parking lot was full. Having talked about going to the zoo to Abby, who at two years old has no comprehension of ‘the parking lot is full’ we drove to another area where we could get parking at a premium: a long walk. Sure, it was free parking but we had to walk around the zoo to get into the zoo so it already put upwards of 3/4 of a mile on our legs pushing a stroller (in case Abby actually got tired) before we got into the zoo. And, as you might expect, since the parking lot was full, so was the zoo. Because of zoo fullness I didn’t bring my camera with logic that was so great: it will be full, there will be too many people in the pictures. Turns out I was right and while there might have been a few fun photo opps there would have been a lot of backs and shoulders in many pictures.

Upon entering the zoo we found that the lion cubs were lazing about as well the adult lions – can you believe that? Nocturnal animals just sitting still; the gall of these critters. So we walked about the zoo and saw the animals and lots of backs and shoulders, but Abby had a good time being hoisted upon my shoulders and seeing over everyone.

And then it happened, out of nowhere I had a sappy dad moment. I was taking Abby on the “Conservation Carousel” where the gal who attends it is conserving energy by not showing any emotion while telling you the rules for riding the carousel. Anyway, the thing started up and I looked and saw my daughter (who, yes, I was holding up on the undulating polar bear) smiling with joy, and waving with glee to her mommy every time we passed her (Jessica was watching the stroller) and I had to fight back tears. I love Abigail and she brings such joy to our lives – it was a bit too much. However, I choked the tears back and we resumed the happy cycling of the carousel for what seemed like a really long short time. It wasn’t more than 3 minutes but it was a lot longer than that because of my emotional fragility.

So, to top off what had now become a special zoo experience as we were making our way towards the exit we say the giraffes running around (and that’s just fun to watch, they look so awkward) and then, right before exiting we watched the lion cubs run around and chase each other. We topped it all off with some ice cream from Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, which is possibly the finest ice cream in Denver.

Good times.