The Dallas Zoo

We took Troy to the Dallas Zoo today. Some friends of ours were taking their daughter to see the Dinosaur Safari exhibit, and they had some guest passes. Knowing that Troy loves dinosaurs (and loves hanging out with their daughter), they thought we’d like to go with them.

We went early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat, but the humidity was still off the charts, so it felt stiflingly hot. The zoo was also packed, but we were able to safely navigate the crowds.

I quickly found out that Misha, our friends’ daughter, has boundless energy like Troy. And both of them are prone to take off without warning, usually together. In fact, they seemed to feed off each other’s energy. So, I spent the entire time chasing them down and making sure they were safe. I didn’t mind. It gave our friends and my wife a break, and I love acting younger anyway. Both Misha and Troy loved playing with me, so it worked out.

We toured the Dinosaur Safari, which consisted of getting on a tram with a tour guide and riding through the exhibit while she told us facts about the dinosaurs. I won brownie points as the only person to ever be able to identify the Quetzalcoatlus dinosaur on sight, so I guess all that studying up with Troy finally paid off.

After that, we aimlessly toured around the animals, wherever the kids wanted to go. Honestly, they were enjoying playing together (and running me ragged) more than seeing the animals. The two highlights were when we stopped to feed the giraffe and the hippos.

I didn’t honestly think that Troy would feed the giraffe, but he thoroughly enjoyed sticking his lettuce up and letting the giraffe lick it out of his tiny hand with his huge black tongue. And for some reason, the giraffe was particularly fond of Troy’s batch of lettuce, shunning several other people to come back to his outstretched hand.

Misha was extremely excited to see the hippos, which enjoyed swimming right up to the glass and doing spirals for the kids. Troy and Misha also enjoyed climbing on the bronze hippo statues near the tank.

After that, we ended the day by taking a ride on the carousel (a first for Troy and I both). The kids loved it so much that we had to go three times!

It was getting late, so we decided to have lunch together and then head home to get the kids down for their naps. We went to Zaguan Latin Cafe and had Cachapas, which is a sweet corn turnover filled with meat, cheese, and vegetables. It was excellent! The kids enjoyed a sampler plate together while watching Baboo on the phone. It was the only way to get them to calm down and sit still. Other than the heat and the allergies, it was a fantastic day.