I Survived Adirondack Animal Land!

I'm happy to report that I survived Xander's 1st grade field trip to Adirondack Animal Land. Yay! I almost didn't surive the drive up, though, because we carpooled and I had to sit in the back where I got nice and carsick. Bleh. But the weather was perfect - warm but overcast.

Joe and I had three kids between us - Xander, Emily and Robert. They were pretty well behaved, though Joe did make them sit a couple of times for running. One of the first things we did when we arrived was going into the petting area where all the goats were. Some of the little baby ones were just so cute!

One of the funniest things all day was Robert at the parrot cage. "These are my favorite! I know everything about them!" he said. So I asked him to share some info with us. His reply? "Well, I can't remember any of it." Too funny! Then it was on to the safari - we all sat in a trailer pulled behind a tractor, through an enclosure where the camels and rheas and pot-bellied pigs ran free. The place to sit was the back (we were closer to the front) because the camels would follow behind waiting for some food and stick their heads into the trailer. Xander's teacher was up and out of her seat at one point, trying to get away from them!

We ate lunch in the picnic area, and our little group was very good about sharing food with each other. Then all the kids played for a while on a wooden pirate ship with slides and things on it. Actually, that was all most of the kids wanted to do with the whole day - there were two or three play areas like that scattered around. Plus a little western town (remnants from the long-gone Carson City perhaps?) that everyone was running around in.

Joe had fun feeding the giraffes - he spent a lot of money on the special crackers. A lot of the kids were squealing whenever that long tongue would come at them, including Xander. It was pretty funny!

The strangest part of the day was me running into my old high school chum Aimee, who was there with her daughter's school group. Honestly, she lives like fifteen minutes away from me and we never see each other. Except at Adirondack Animal Land, of all places!

We finished up the day in the gift shop, where the three kids in my group all bought the same thing: plastic bow and arrow set (a hot seller than day!), a memo pad, and a souvenir penny. I got myself a plastic cup, and Joe invested in both the souvenir penny and a penny passport to keep that and all future ones in. (Spending 50 cents on a penny? That's all Joe!)

Then it was back to the school at 3:30pm. I can't wait to see what kind of field trips Xander (and Joe and I!) will be taking next year!