Lions and Tigers and Bunny Crackers...Oh My!

Anticipating that the weather would squander our plans for fun, my friend Joanna and I deftly devised Plan B which I imagine we would have executed seamlessly if called upon to do so, however, as we pulled into the parking lot of the Rogers Williams Park & Zoo (Plan A), the clouds parted and the sun made a memorable apperance to light up our day. I'm fairly certain that Maeve and I arrived that day as THE (if not one of the) newest members to the Zoo and boy were we excited. My husband had been there a long time ago as a young kid, but I had never had the pleasure to being there until last Saturday. Although the idea of a zoo might be a bit depressing to some, for me it was a real treat to watch Maeve discover some live animals up close that we had only read about or seen on the Planet Earth series!

Joanna, aka Super Mom, came well equipped and even provided Maeve with many treats to satisfy every need: a two-seater Radio Fyler wagon, bunny crackers and raisins!



As much fun as it was for me to watch Maeve search for the animal hiding within exhibit, it was equally, if not more fun, to watch Patrick as he tooled around the Zoo as if he were the Chief Zookeeper, finding each animal, naming each animal (I'm talking Aoudads and Moon Bears, people) and knowing which exhibit was our next stop! And while we waited for the elephants to be brought inside to enjoy their luncheon, Patrick recited the 2007 Red Sox batting order for me. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING...BUT I'M NOT:



A stop at the giant, bronzed dog...




Then it was off to lunch at the Newport Creamery...but not before Maeve fell victim to total zoo burnout:



Patrick and his Mom...



Patrick and his sweets...