I’m Sick – But We Had Fun at the Zoo

Every August I get allergies, and this August is no different. A couple days ago the congestion, sneezing and headache set in. Never had them until we moved here to SC, and now I get them EVERY. SINGLE. AUGUST. It lasts about two weeks and then is gone like it never happened. Blerg.

Yesterday the kids and I braved the weather and went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. The folks at Weather.com claimed that the rain would be stopping around 10:30 – 11 a.m., so we left the house in the morning and arrived at 11 a.m. We were there for 2 1/2 hours and it rained the entire time. I’m not kidding – the ENTIRE time.

I bought rain ponchos from the gift shop for us to wear, but mine was annoying so I took it off (plastic sticking to wet skin is NOT comfortable). However, the kids loved wearing theirs and didn’t complain a single time.

Obviously, the zoo was empty. Not many of us are crazy enough to take the kids to the zoo when it’s raining. However, there were some major pluses. The kids got to ride the carousel a couple times without having to get off because they were two of five people on it. We were able to zip through a couple of the exhibits that normally are VERY crowded (the fish/reptile building). I didn’t have to waste tons of money on snacks everywhere because 99% of the food kiosks were closed. And lastly, we got to feed the lorikeets twice.

Now, you can feed the lorikeets as many times as you want, but on a normal day they get fed so much that at some point they become disinterested and never bother coming out. However, since the zoo was empty, these birds were VERY hungry and were literally hanging on the entrance door so they’d have first crack at whoever walked in with the little cups of food.

The first time through only CB and CG had little cups of food. CG freaked out (which she always does) and quickly passed off her cup of nectar to me. Three birds promptly landed on me – two on my hand, one on my shoulder. CB walked over to where 5-6 birds were hanging out and they began climbing onto his hand as well. When all the nectar was gone, they went in search of more from someone else, and the kids begged to do it again. So we came back around to the entrace, bought more nectar, and went in again. Once again, the birds came rushing at us. I even had one on my head at some point! CG opened up and while she wasn’t willing to let one actually STAND on her, she was okay with one putting one claw on her hand to keep her from moving, his other claw on the rope he was standing on.

Despite the pouring rain at this point, I whipped out my Blackberry and took a picture of CB with one of the birds on his hand.

Once the birds were done with us, we made for the exits to make the drive home. We were soaked, but had a GREAT time at the zoo.