Our Trip to Pittsburgh Zoo . . . .

Katy brought her mom and dad over to visit Oma and Opa in Pittsburgh last weekend. She was so very helpful in helping me get the weeds out of my flower beds and move the shells around on Saturday morning while were were waiting for a nap and some lunch. I really kind of like this routine of naps between all the meals. Too bad that is not as common for grown ups, because I'm sure I could use a nap here and there. Katy has a nice rhythm going, Sleep, eat, drink milk, take a nap, eat some more, drink some more milk, take another nap. . . . Like I said. It's very calming.

Saturday afternoon we all got in the van and went to the Pittsburgh Zoo. It was a beautiful day with sun and temperatures in the 70's. The zoo was really pleasant, and we saw lots of animals and ate ice cream.

There were lots of neat animals, but my favorite animal was this camel. Something about it just spoke to me with the "bad hair day" tufts in strange places and the lumpy body with calluses on the knees. Maybe I just identify with the challenges of looking presentable with some of these things myself. But some of the people at the zoo were almost as interesting as the animals. There was everything from a punky looking guy with black hair standing straight out to a number of Pennsylvania Dutch people with little babies in capes and bonnets and flat hats. An interesting lot in their own right.

Katy liked to pet the deer and look at all the animals that we could get close enough to for her to see them clearly. The only animal she really knows besides a doggie is a zebra; and the zebra at the zoo on Saturday was being very shy and staying back in a corner where you couldn't see him very well. There were some pretty fish and a really wonderful aquarium with beautiful colored fish. Greg and I wandered around a lot reading all the stuff on the walls about the rain forest and the canopy and all the wildlife living in the different strata. We also always seemed to be lagging behind in the African area where there was a lot of information about how long the lions go between meals and then how much they eat when they catch something. So much information . . . .

Katy liked to push the stroller and chase the peacock over into the weeds and do a lot of the other things that make a day at the zoo worthwhile. Since Greg and I had never been to the zoo since we lived here, it was very nice to know that we had such a nice one! The seals in the Waters Edge section seemed to be having a wonderful time just swimming around in circles and gliding along.

Once we finished our trip, we went back home and had dinner. Katy had missed her afternoon nap by this time, and she was really sleepy. She was out for the count very soon after supper. But in all it was a wonderful visit.

This last picture is one of the rare calm moments with a 13-month old when Katy crawled up in my lap to share some toast and a brief snuggle before it was time to go home. Another visit comes to an end, and back to the routine we go. I wonder if my boss will consider adding naps to the Outlook schedule around 2 in the afternoon . . . .