The date was Friday, September 13, 2019. I had been looking forward to this for a long time, and was feeling really excited about it the day before at work. “We’re going to the zoo!” my sister said. I felt like I had earned this trip. My excitement of seeing the elephants was growing. They’re my favorite animal, and my sister wanted to see them at the zoo, too.
After packing up water and snacks, we start making the 70-minute drive to our local zoo. The drive actually took over two hours because a rear-end collision held up the interstate. I was so excited when we finally got out of traffic and started driving towards the zoo. Once we finally got to the zoo, I was extremely giddy. I hadn’t been there since I was in the fifth grade, so this was a real treat.
I remember my sister telling me that I was in charge of reading the map. I was nervous about that, because I am not the best in the world at reading maps. We first looked at the reptiles and the buffalo. We looked all throughout the zoo, but we could not find the elephants to save our lives. All was not lost, however.
We saw some monkeys and other primates. They were really interesting to look at. We also looked at some really pretty birds. My heart exploded when we saw the penguins. They were absolutely adorable. Then one of the penguins went swimming and he was the happiest little penguin in the world. We also saw a llama. I’ve gone by the nickname turkey llama since I was in high school, so it was really funny seeing it.
Finally, we saw the elephants. They were so cute! I just wanted to kiss their cute, floppy ears and sweet, swirly trunks. There were two elephants in the indoor facility and they were having a jolly good day. It looked like they even were playing keep-away at one point. I even saw one of the elephants being a little camera shy.
There was another one outside, and he was a very happy elephant. He was enjoying his yummy lunch of grass and hay. He was absolutely enjoying a sunny Friday afternoon without a care in the world. I strive to be as happy as that elephant.
On our way out, my sister and I decided to check out the giraffe exhibit. When I was in kindergarten, my class went to the zoo on a field trip and I had my heart set on seeing the giraffes. Seeing them made me feel like a little kid again.
What was really funny was the facial expression on the giraffe’s face. It looked like the expression a college professor would give when they catch one of their students talking about the party they attended instead of paying attention to the cell biology lecture. It was absolutely hilarious and relatable.
We also checked out some of the critters, and I thought the porcupine was pretty cute. Finally, we looked at the tiger. He was a very handsome kitty. Tigers are beautiful. They were my sister’s favorite animal for as long as I can remember.
At the end of our zoo trip, we decided to go to the gift shop. I picked out an elephant that smelled like berries. She was so beautiful, light blue and purple, two colors I absolutely adore. I forgot what I named her, sadly. I will refer to her as Cinderella, as Cinderella is my absolute favorite Disney princess.
Afterwards, my sister and I decided to grab some dinner from Culver’s, one of my favorite restaurants in the whole entire world. The location had amazing food and amazing hospitality. It was a great way to end the day, and I am so happy that it was full of fun.
I am so happy that my sister and I spent the day at the zoo. I loved getting to see the super adorable animals, especially my absolute favorite ones, the elephants. I hope that I get to go back to the zoo sometime soon after the coronavirus pandemic passes. It really made me happy and it was an experience that I am very grateful for.
Elephants & Extra Base Hits 