Every year our zoo, The Toledo Zoo, has an event called, “The Lights Before Christmas”. And every year, we don’t go. Usually it is due to scheduling, some of the time because of the weather, and then there was the one time we tried to go and ended up sitting in traffic for almost 2 hours… And I don’t remember what happened then, but we didn’t go.
This year was different. November has been a very mild month. Honestly, you never know what you’re going to get here. So one night we just decided to go. As soon as I got home from work we did the dinner thing and headed out the door.
What luck was shining on us that night, I do not know. There was almost no traffic, we got a good parking space and the weather was really quite nice. I think all this good fortune went to our heads. The trip became an indulgent one; With souvenir light-up necklaces, sodas, nuts, pictures with Santa… and more.
And now for some pictures:
There was an event of major note as well. One of the attractions at The Lights Before Christmas is an ice slide. It is exactly what it sounds like, a ramp covered with ice that you slide down in an inner tube. Arwen really wanted to try it, so I bought some passes and got in line. The intention was to have Arwen ride with me… and based on what I saw on the notices, this was allowed. When it was our turn the attendant told us that we had to ride side by side, but separately. This idea really freaked Arwen out and she backed out of doing it. We found our way back to spyMommy, the whole time Arwen chanting, “I’m doomed”. When we got to the bottom of the slide, Arwen was really depressed. But after watching a couple people go down, she decided that she wanted to give it another try. Then something unexpected happened. Rowan let us know that he wanted to try it. I was all for it, spyMommy was a little hesitant. Trying to get him to understand how to hold on, stay seated, all that might be a challenge, but we decided to let him try. We got to the top, got in and away we went. I tried to get video of it.
https://instagram.com/p/-Nj6LMGddx
When it was over, the kids were thrilled. They wanted to go again and again… An idea I shot down only because my wallet was starting to cry at this point. spyMommy and I were so impressed by the level of bravery shown by Arwen, facing her fears and committing. That was the capstone of the evening.
And now, a video: