Junior Zookeeper

Edmund: Junior Zookeeper

During our trip to see Grandma Kay Kay and Grandad in Harrisonburg, VA we decided to take our Junior Zookeeper, Edmund, to Virginia Safari Park. Kay Kay, Mommy, Daddy, and Edmund were the participants for this particular adventure. When we arrived at the park, we purchased tickets for the wagon ride, as this would allow us to get more up close and personal with the animals than a car would. Unfortunately we chose poor seating, as the only place you can not feed from is the front of the wagon, and of course that is where we chose to sit. For any other person it wouldn't be a problem, but seeing as I am not forceful and didn't want to lean over anyone I missed out on many a feeding opportunity. Edmund on the other hand had no problem getting to the animals as people bent over backwards to let him see. This led to a sloppy kiss from a very hungry camel. Edmund of course found this kiss hilarious. He also got to pet a bison, and view quite a few emu and ostriches. I was in heaven at the end of the ride when two of my favorite animal appeared. I got to see and pet a Highland Coo, something I hadn't been able to do since my trip to Scotland 12 years ago. For those of you who don't know, a Highland Coo is a type of cow that might as well be an oversized dog. I always likened them to my dog Shortstop. Edmund wasn't as amused as I was as nothing beats walking for him these days, but at least he got to see this curious creature in his young life.

After the wagon ride we took a walk through the rest of the park, which was more like a typical zoo. We passed one of the zookeepers who commented on Edmund's zookeeper outfit. She said she wished she had one like his. And who could blame her, as Edmund was too cute for words. Edmund enjoyed spending time watching the antics of goats and llamas in the petting zoo area. We also saw giraffes, kangaroos, and a tiger, but Edmund could take them or leave them. What's a tiger when there's walking to be had. After learning there were Highland Coos to be seen, I begged to do the safari ride again. I had saved quite a bit of feed from our wagon ride, since as you'll recall my seat prevented me from doing much feeding. Thus, we were able to travel the safari trail in our car. I think I enjoyed this even more as ostriches pecked inside the window for feed. As I turned back to Edmund to talk to him about the animals he was seeing, a Highland Coo put his head in my lap and ate all the feed. As the animal pulled his head out of the car, he left quite a bit of slobber. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little grossed out. As we headed deeper into the safari, zebras began licking our windows. For reasons that weren't explained, we couldn't feed the zebras, so we considered zebra slobber on the car windows quite a prize. It's been two weeks and we have yet to wash the slobber from the car.

Safari Park was quite the adventure. Kay Kay, Steven, and I all had a blast. Edmund seemed to think this was just a typical day in the life. Because of course we have ostriches sticking their heads in our windows every day!

Edmund Visits Owensboro, KY

Five Generations of Naves

A week ago today, Kay Kay (my mom), Steven, Edmund, and I loaded up my parents' honkin' Nissan and headed west toward Kentucky. For those of you who don't know, the majority of my side of the family live in Owensboro, KY (a city on the western end of the state). According to Steven's research, Owensboro is the third largest city in KY. However, I should put "large" into perspective for you. Owensboro is essentially the same size as Chapel Hill in both population and area. However, whereas Chapel Hill is surrounded by several cities, Owensboro has no such cities on its borders. As far as Steven and I are concerned Owensboro is quite a small city, which made for easy navigation.

When we arrived in KY, Edmund was greeted by his Nannie and Great Aunt Zann. He was showered with hugs and kisses. So many in fact, our little boy didn't know what to do. The next day we headed out for what would be a very momentous occasion. We took Edmund to see his Grannie. Grannie is Edmund's great-great grandmother. When we arrived at Grannie's room in the nursing home, I put Edmund on the bed with Grannie. Edmund began to cry. Though a little disheartening, I shouldn't have been surprised. Edmund has become quite the mama's boy. Grannie had the perfect solution. She handed Edmund his very own balloon complete with attached sippy cup (though Edmund was slightly disappointed the cup was empty). Once Edmund had his balloon, he and Grannie became fast friends. Nannie, Grannie, Kay Kay, Edmund, and I all posed for pictures. How amazing to be able to get five generations in one room! That visit is one I will always cherish, and be sure to tell Edmund about for the rest of his life (whether or not he wants to hear about it!).

After our visit with Grannie, Edmund took a nap to reenergize. He woke up raring to go. Nannie, Kay Kay, Aunt Zann, Steven, Edmund, and I made the trek to downtown Owensboro to visit the Owenboro Museum of Science. The main exhibit on the first floor was a look at How Things Go. Edmund and I worked on an assembly line to put together color coordinated Little Tikes cars. I think Edmund was asleep at the wheel because we only successfully put together one car. Actually we put together quite a bit more, but someone (ok it was me) forgot to press the button each time we completed a car. While the rest of the family was busying themselves with other displays, Steven, Edmund, and I went to work putting together a bridge. Were it not for some last minute assistance from Aunt Suzann our bridge may have collapsed, but instead we were able to erect it tall and strong--er a little wobbly.

Eventually Edmund became a little bored with How Things Go, so we took the elevator to the second floor. The exhibit on the second floor is old enough that I remember it, but it is a toddler's dream. The first thing we came to is called "The Toddler's Tunnel." On the outside of the tunnel Steven turned a wheel raising a ball to the top of a shoot. The ball then went back and forth across the wall until resting at the bottom. Edmund followed the ball by moving his entire head, which was quite a sight. Then came the most fun part of the tunnel. Inside were switches galore. There was about every kind of light switch, doorbell, buzzer, you name it, imaginable. Not only could Edmund test out his fine motor skills, but the switches actually produced results. Lights went on and off, doorbells rang, buzzers dinged. What more could a toddler ask for? As Edmund is apt to do, he deliberately led us out of of the tunnel and walked us to the indoor playground. The playground wasn't foam like at Southpoint, but still gave Edmund a nice place to practice walking. He even learned to enjoy slides by going down one located on the play steam ship. Edmund also thought it was great fun to sit in the tunnel that slightly leaves the museum walls, dangling kids over the streets of downtown Owensboro. We about gave Edmund's relatives heart attacks, but Steven and I didn't let him go too far out. Edmund knew he was hot stuff. After letting Edmund get most of his walking out of his system, we decided to call it a day.

Edmund spent the next couple of days in Owensboro playing with Grandma Kay Kay, Nannie, Aunt Zann, and Daddy. I unfortunately came down with Steven's "allergies" which took me out of commision. During this time Edmund had fun meeting Aunt Mary and Uncle Carroll, Melinda, Aunt Joyce, Carol Ann, Kirtley, Cathy, Andrew and Linda Carol. Kirtley fast became one of Edmund's best friends as she walked him around outside. This gave me a chance to rest too. I felt bad I couldn't visit as much as I wanted due to my cold, but when I remembered I am now merely a second class citizen anyway, there were no worries.

Fortunately by Friday, Edmund (who also caught his daddy's "allergies") and I were well enough to travel to the country for the ultimate Kentucky experience. Our first stop was to Melinda's. Edmund came face to face with Blaze, a miniature horse. He also got to meet Charlotte, a pot-bellied pig. I was in heaven as I got to pick up some barn kittens. It brought back memories of playing with kittens at Granddaddy Johnny's barn. I am not a cat person, but I love kittens. Edmund clearly is a dog person, as he completely ignored the kittens in favor of the barn dog. He's a kid after my own heart. After our meeting with the animals came to a close, Uncle Carroll took us up to the lake in his golf cart. At the lake my cousins Steve, Gary Lynn, and Levi helped me bait and catch several fish. I caught two large bass, but the kicker was my 8 lb catfish. Edmund gave the fish a look of disgust, but perked up when he saw Maggie the dog. After fishing there was nothing left to do, but enjoy Aunt Mary's homemade banana ice cream. The perfect ending to a day in the country.

Unfortunately, we had a rainy 4th of July. On the upside, Edmund got to spend some quality time with Nannie and Aunt Zann before we left Owensboro. Although our trip was short, Edmund got to meet some very special people while learning how to rough it away from the city.