Memory Lane

It was strange being in Virginia knowing that it would be the last time I would see the house I lived in for 15 years.  Walking around seeing the marks on the floor from when I wore my roller skates in the house.  Seeing the stains in the carpet from when we had a HUGE party for a family friend when he got back from Dessert Storm.

Although we were in Virginia to help my parents pack and get moved, I made sure to try to stop by a few places that I figured I wouldn't see again.  Among them (in no particular order):

Carousel Ice Cream Shop

The church where we got married (we happened to drive by on our 14th anniversary).

Wegman's (our favorite grocery store because it has great prices and awesome bread).

I also made a point to see some of our friends.  We went to our old church and saw a few friends there.  The kids and I got together with my matron of honor and her daughter.  We also got to see another set of friends, my hubby's grandparents, as well as my brother-in-law and his family.  Let me just say, my nephew is growing up WAY. TO. FAST. 

Of course we will go back to Virginia to visit family as long as they live there, but they don't live very close to our other friends.  The good news is that we live in Florida so if any of our friends find themselves down our way (we're only 2 hours from Disney folks), we'd love for you to swing by our house or we could even meet you.  Just give us a call in advance  ;-)

There was one place we wanted to try to see but didn't have time for and that was King's Dominion (an amusement park for those not familiar).  That was where hubby and I said goodby to each other the summer we met.  It was also where we went for our 1st and 2nd anniversary.  I guess the good news is that it's pretty close to where hubby's grandparents live, so perhaps we will find ourselves there at some point in the future.

Memories

This morning I'm up bright and early so that I can take the two kittens we have been fostering to the vet to be fixed in preparation for their adoption. 

It brings my thoughts back to a summer day many years ago when we were watching a friend's cat for the summer while he took a summer job and couldn't take his cat.  While the cat was in our charge he asked us to have her declawed.  So here starts the memory, taking a cat that is not ours to the vet to have a procedure.

On this particular occasion, the vet convinced me that I should get the cat a pain patch.  It wasn't my cat and I couldn't reach her owner so I agreed (out of guilt I suppose).  Anyway, the pain patch came with instructions.  Very specific instructions.  Such as, don't touch it or you could get violently ill and die.  Don't let it stay on the cat for more than 2 days or it could get violently ill and die.  Not what I was expecting when I agreed at all.

The time for the patch would have expired while we were at work and I knew my hubby would either forget or would be running late for work himself so I decided to do it before I got in the shower in the morning.  That way if I touched it I could immediately wash any remnants off (and not die).

Anyway, I took the cat to the bathroom so I could take the patch off and dispose of it in the toilet (per the instructions).  The cat didn't like it, but she didn't scratch at me or anything so I figured we were ok. 

I guess I was wrong.  The cat really didn't like having a 2 X 4 patch of hair pulled at so what did she do?  She hopped on my bed and peed on my sleeping husband.  What a way to wake up!  Needless to say, he got in the shower while I cleaned up the mattress. 

For years that cat hated my husband (not sure why since I was the one to remove the patch).  Today she is living with us again (her owner moved overseas and couldn't take her) and doesn't seem to hold it against us any longer.  Not that we let her near our mattress (just in case).

Memories

Yesterday, hubby and I did some serious work on the camper.  We ended up taking out the table and chairs and all the carpet in the main area.  As I was ripping out the carpet I was reminded of our first house together. 

Right after we got married we ended up renting a 3 bedroom, 1 and a half bath house.  We were renting it from my old church so in exchange for a cheap rent we were asked to do some improvements to the house.  One of which was to pull up the old carpet (which was hiding beautiful hardwood floors).

Tomorrow we will be putting in Pergo flooring in the areas we took the carpet out.  This brings back some memories as well.  When I was 8 months pregnant with my first child, I helped hubby put down laminate tile.  We ended up having to redo that floor a couple years later and put down Pergo.  We spent a couple nights doing that while the kids were asleep.

To be honest, these times when hubby and I are doing "home improvement" types of things are some of my fondest memories.  Even though the carpets have been GROSS and laying Pergo is a sweaty job, it's been fun.  We've had some interesting conversations and some funny mishaps.

I'm hopeful that we can do more in the future.

My Life is a Zoo

Not really, but I've been to so many as of late that it sometimes feels like it.  You see, I've gone to 6 different zoos in 5 different states over the last 4 months.  As such, I feel like a bit of a connoisseur.  Because of that, I'm going to rank the zoo's I've been to and explain their ranking.

1.  St. Louis, MO

Admission is free but you do need to pay for parking.  There are a few activities you can do at the zoo that cost extra (ride the train, ride the carousel, attend a sea lion show, pet a stingray).  We did pay to do many of the extra things and we don't regret that purchase at all.  We thought the layout of the zoo was well thought out and that the animals had not only ample space, but visitors to the zoo had a pretty good chance of seeing the different animals (even if they were sleeping).  Our only complaint was the cost of the food and drinks.

2.  Des Moines, IA (Blank Park Zoo)

This was the smallest of the zoos we went to.  That meant it didn't have as many animals but they were all laid out in such a way that you could see them without any problems.  They also had numerous shows and meet the keeper opportunities which the kids loved.  We also paid $1 to feed a giraffe a leaf of lettuce (OK we paid $5 and got 6 leaves), and we also paid $1 for each of the kids to feed some parakeets.

3.  Columbus, OH. 

I've heard lots of good things about this zoo because it is where Jack Hannah is based out of.  Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed.  Maybe it was because of all the hype.  Don't get me wrong, it's a nice zoo, but the layout for the animal enclosures made it hard to see some of the animals.  They do have numerous meet the keeper opportunities and an animal show that is really cute (with primarily house pets that have been rescued from local shelters).  In addition to having lots of different animals (a plus when it comes to kids) they have a spectacular play area for the kids and a mini-amusement park complete with a coaster, log flume, and swing (the day we were there it was cold and a bit windy so most of the rides were closed).  The price of the foods at the zoo is also rather reasonable for eating out as well.

4.  Cincinnati, OH. 

Technically the Cincinnati Zoo is also a Botanical Garden.  That means the zoo is beautifully landscaped and for the most part well laid out.  It is rather hilly which made pushing around my 6 year old and 4 year old in a double stroller a bit difficult at times (I kept telling myself I was getting a good workout).  I love some of the special themed buildings they have (cats, insects and butterflies, etc).  I also liked how everything was well shaded (very important considering the day we were there it was 90).  Besides the hills, my biggest beef with the Cincy Zoo is the price to park and get in.  I also wished they had at least one area for the kids to just unwind and run around.

5.  Washington, DC. 

This was the first of the zoos I'd been to but it's also one I've been to multiple times because it is my "home" zoo.  The National Zoo is very nice considering it's in the heart of the Nation's Capital.  It is rather hilly in areas (again making pushing a stroller hard).  It was also undergoing LOTS of construction.  A necessity I understand, but it meant that many of the animals we were there to see were taken off display because their habitat was being renovated.  It would have been nice to know in advance just so I could have prepared my kids.

6.  Minnesota Zoo in Minneapolis, MN (Apple Valley). 

They claimed they have the second largest acreage of any zoo in the United States.  If that's the case, they are letting a lot of it go to waste.  They claim it is because they are trying to preserve some of the marsh land in the area.  I have no problem with that, but don't tout to me that you have all this space and disappoint me by having so few animals.  They did have a few kid play areas that were nice (including a water fountain for them to run in).  They also had a really nice aquarium complete with a dolphin.  That said, I would not go back to this zoo.  Instead, I would go to Como Zoo (in nearby St. Paul) which I hear is much nicer and also has a small amusement park.

Now to cover some general information.  If you are planning on doing anything like this I would recommend that you  get a family membership to your local zoo.  The reason is because by doing so you are allowed into that zoo for free for the next year.  My local zoo is the National Zoo.  I figured out that I would need to go to the National Zoo 2 times in order to "make back" my money (your membership is tax deductible by the way).  Not only that, but having a membership to the National Zoo got me discounts at every zoo that I went to.

To ellaborate:  I got into the Des Moines Zoo for free (it normally would have cost us $30 for 3 of us).  Getting into St. Louis is free for everyone, but we were able to do all of the "extra" activities except for petting the stingrays for half price.  We got into all the other zoos for 50% off and we even got 15% off food or gift store purchases in Cincinnati just for showing them my National Zoo membership.

I have gotten back so much more than what I paid for the membership.  Not only have we gotten discounts at other zoos, but we've been able to experience 6 different zoos in 5 different states.  We've seen MANY different animals and have lots of pictures and memories that will last a lifetime.