Malversation Monday

malversation ~ corruption in office; corrupt administration; misconduct

Well I don’t know about you, but I had a fun weekend. I got to go to Boo at the Zoo with the grandbaby and her parents. Admission was half price and kids wearing costumes got in free, so as you can imagine, it was pretty busy. The zoo was gussied up with Halloween decorations like these inflatable dragons near the front entrance.

Unfortunately, it was pretty cold (for October) and only got colder as the day went on. Some of the animals with outdoor enclosures chose to stay hidden inside. One of the first animals we saw were this momma and baby rhino:

The orangutans were one of the animals who were having their habitat revamped, but the grandbaby still got to pose with one outside:

The zoo has changed a lot since I last visited – I’m not even sure how long ago it was. The elephants were gone and a lot of the animals were in little buildings of their own. The giraffes we saw were inside, but at least they had a fitting backdrop for pictures:

We didn’t get to see a live hippo, but the grandbaby and her friend Griffy got to ride on one:

I was kind of disappointed that the tiger didn’t come close enough for a decent picture, but at least the lions knew how to strike a pose:

We were cold and tired and in my case a little foot sore by the time we were done, but I think I’m safe in saying a good time was had by all.

Monkey Business

This picture was taken about two weeks ago when we took the grandbaby to the Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborugh. It's one of the few pictures I was able to take with my camera before the battery ran out.

I still can't believe with all the other preparations I made for that day it never occurred to me to check the battery in the camera. And the really sad part is, I have two batteries for this camera and keep a fully charged one inside the camera case. Unfortunately, I didn't have the case with me, I just carried my camera.

Another lesson learned. *sigh*

Macerate Monday

macerate ~ to steep or soak; to break up; to emaciate

Timing is everything.

Last week the hubby and I took the grandbaby to Riverview Park and Zoo, which is about a 45 minute drive north. Or at least it is when you don’t run into detours and construction. I don’t know what it is about Peterborough, but the north side of the city seems to have been under construction for the last several years. I don’t mean houses so much, although it does appear to be spreading westward, but the roads.

I get admiration from passengers on how well I know the city, but trust me, it’s not because of any great love for it, it’s because I need to know the different routes for getting from point A to point B (like night school or a writers group meeting) just in case the one I’m most familiar with is blocked.

Anyway, we made it there eventually and that’s where my timing went off. We didn’t have a picnic lunch with us, we figured we’d stop at some point for take-out. It was close enough to lunch that we should have done this before we went to the zoo.

Also, it was a beautiful summer day so the place was packed – it’s a free zoo with a splash park and playground attached, why wouldn’t it be? We had to park several miles away and hike in (okay, I might be exaggerating just a little, but we weren’t exactly close).

We meandered along, making note of the snack shop and seeing very few animals because they were mostly hiding from the heat, and at the farthest end of the park was a small train. Grandbaby and I waited 45 minutes in line for a 10 minute ride. Hubby opted to just sit and wait for us in the shade.

Then we meandered back to the snack shop where they gouged us for a very unhealthy lunch. Fortified, we continued checking out the animals, at which point my camera let me know the battery was just about dead. The irritating part about that was that I have a spare battery, I just didn’t have it with me.

Unfortunately, by the time we got back to the gift shop near the playgrounds, there wasn’t any time to actually play. So I bought the grandbaby a stuffed otter (she really liked the otters) and we headed for home with the promise we’d bring her back some time so she could splash and play.

As I said, it’s a small zoo and there wasn’t a huge variety of animals, but the price was right (if you don’t count the lunch). While it was a little disappointing our timing was off so there was no time for splashing or playing, the grandbaby didn’t seem to mind – she had a great time.

And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?