An (Animal) Adventure

It's Oktoberfest time of year again, and my wanderlust is ratcheted back up.  A couple years ago I think the exhaustion from a busy year of traveling had me feeling content with not being there.  Last year my anxiety had me all messed up, and my car accident ruined whatever brain function I had left, so it probably wasn't as top of mind.  But this year I watch my webcams longingly, wishing I could be there taking in the sights.  My parents were just in Germany in August, which probably makes it a little stronger this year, knowing all they got to see.  It's so pretty, so exotic, so fun.  And probably all of the above has been in a bit of short supply lately.

So, it was nice to get away last weekend for a change of scenery.  After everything we've been going through with Carter's health and Jacob's schooling, the mental break felt important--never mind that the people on the other end were long overdue for a visit, as well.  I went to Binghamton to see Heather, and of course my godson, as well.  Mentally it felt like a bigger hurdle than I wanted it to be, because my last trip there resulted in a car accident and a very messy few weeks, even if the weekend itself ended up being pretty great otherwise.  It was a week shy of when it happened last year, and it's been weighing on me lately.  I think it's just the time of year and coming up to the anniversary, grateful for an uneventful-ish year with my new car but also being very aware how quickly things can change.  I'm once again grateful for my anxiety meds because they can mostly calm the irrational thoughts and worries, which was keeping the reminders mostly tolerable.  I can't say I haven't had a couple flashbacks when traffic stops suddenly or like a couple weeks ago when someone almost changed lanes into me, but it still felt like a weird mental block to overcome before this trip.  Luckily I was taking a different route this time, so it was easier to get past that.

I got a later start on Friday, mostly because I had put off packing and I had some work things to accomplish before I left.  I had started to come down with a cold (probably the one that Carter had that also took Jacob out for three days of his first full week at the new school) and I had been fighting it off as much as I could.  But I was still worried about passing it along, so it was going to be a last-minute decision.  Fortunately, by Thursday I was feeling much better--not 100%, and still not, actually--but far more in control of my symptoms so as not to actively sneeze or snot on anyone.  But I had held off packing just in case, which left me a lot of work on Friday morning.  I had to gather up three bags of hand-me-downs, a few toys I was passing along, and my whole suitcase.  I figured I'd be around long enough to eat an early lunch, then stop for gas and my travel Slurpee, and head out.  I had thought about making a stop en route, but 1) that didn't go well last time; and 2) in the end I decided I didn't really have enough time to justify the $25 fee at the most obvious stop, the Corning Museum of Glass.  But it does make for a perfect halfway point, so in the end I stopped to just go in the shop.  Pumpkins are now priced ridiculously (they were before but even a super tiny one is like $30), but I did find Carter's Christmas ornament for this year, so it was worth the stop.  And the pumpkins were really pretty!

I also had to take a minute with the Chihuly...

Fortunately, it was an uneventful drive and I arrived around 4:30.  Mason was so excited to see me!  Some kids are shy after not seeing someone for a year, but not him!  He got right to work showing me some toys and giving me a house tour (even though I got it last year!).  We played before dinner, ate, and then went out for ice cream down the road, which was so yummy!  After he went to bed, Heather and I (of course) stayed up chatting until late!

I slept in really well, actually, which was good since I did not sleep well last time--my sleep troubles had already started before that trip, but the accident obviously made them way worse, and it lasted for months.  But yay for my sleep meds and a good night's sleep this time!  Mason was ready to play when I emerged, and we ended up getting out the toys I brought with me.  I grabbed the toys that were part of the last toy purge but were too good to just give away on the Buy Nothing page--a big batch of Magic Tracks (the as-seen-on-TV bendy tracks with battery operated cars), Squigz (knobby rubber suction cup building toys), and the Pinterest-inspired felt Mr. Potato Head I made when I was unemployed.  It was in an old travel baby wipes case and had lots of parts inspired by the real toy.  I figured I might as well give it to him rather than just toss it, since my kids are clearly past that.  He quickly set out to play with all of the toys.  We set up magnetic tile tunnels for the Magic Tracks and he used the Squigz as signs and lights around the track.  When he started playing with the Mr. Potato Head, somehow it came up that we could make more parts for him with felt, and immediately he wanted to do that.  Well, of course, we were a bit limited on felt at the moment so that had to wait.  That was met with a bit of frustration, but we managed.

Heather had mentioned going to Animal Adventure Park, home of the late April the Giraffe of internet pregnancy fame, which we had gone to in the winter years ago when Mason was very little.  The Christmas displays were really pretty, but the cold weather and darkness made any animal viewing aside from the indoor giraffe barn a bit challenging.  I was excited at the prospect of going back, especially on a really nice day like it was (once the extremely thick fog burned off, anyway), but Mason was NOT having it.  He really just wanted to stay home and play with me.  That was sweet, obviously, but he was tending to get a bit bored or frustrated by some of what we were playing (like the magnetic tile tunnels collapsing or the cars not moving through the course as well as the batteries got weaker), so it felt like a change of scenery would be good.  We finally convinced him that it would be fun since we'd still be together, so off we went.

He played with Mr. Potato Head in the car...

First stop inside had to be the giraffes!  Heather bought a bucket to feed them, and it was so fun to be up on the deck, face-to-face with them.  Oliver in particular is super tall, so you could literally look him in the eye!

Those lashes!

Kimara was a little smaller, but equally lovely.

Watching Mason feed them was fun!

I mean, how cute are they up close like this?!

That face!!  Obsessed!

We went on to feed a pig and some goats...

...then we saw some alpacas, including a baby!

We saw some lazy lions and a macaw before coming to these monkeys.  This one looked so serious.  After the fact I thought he sort of resembled Wilford Brimley.

The horns on this goat were pretty impressive.

Ostriches are interesting.  I see emus every year at the pumpkin patch, but these guys just hit different.  Their feet are giant, and they're just so imposing...until you remember how small their brains are.

Their feathers were SO interesting, just so fluffy on top but oddly sparse underneath.

That was quite the stretch to groom!

This one kept trying to eat the fence.  I think I saw another one do that at another zoo, but I happened to catch this one perfectly!

The African Crowned Cranes were so odd.  I went to take a picture and they started freaking out on me.  And yes, I'm apologizing to them in the video!

I still got a good glamour shot, though!
 

We had to check Mason's wingspan.  Looks like he was a macaw.  I was closer to the crowned crane!

We saw some flamingos as Mason started to run up ahead.  As we were trying to call him back, he yelled, "They have capybaras!"  So, if you recall, I bought my stuffed capybara around my birthday.  He's a cozy kind of bolster pillow when I sleep on my side, and he's taken on a life of his own with Carter's hippo.  I ended up bringing him with me--maybe a combination of comfortable sleep, emotional support, and wanting to ensure the kids weren't posing him in weird pictures all weekend (it happens)--and Mason knew that.  So when he saw the capybaras, he was super excited...and so was I!  Of course, real ones aren't quite as happy and snuggly looking as mine, but it was fun to see them.  

Or at least, fun until one pooped where he was standing in the water, and it was sort of liquidy and just floated around him.  Yuck.  I'll spare you the photo.

Mason sent some food down a tube to the camels, and this one smiled nicely for me!

We saw some kangaroos lounging in the shade, and then we came across this wind tunnel machine.  Of course Mason wanted to do it.  He was all smiles and giggles the whole time it blew!

Highland cows are so funny.  I have no idea how this one could see his food!

We passed reindeer with giant racks, then flew by the black bears because Mason wanted to sit on the "bear chair".  First with Mommy...

...then with me!

The wolf was hiding under a shady tree, and there was an alligator, but he was pretty tiny.

We saw the water buffaloes, tigers, a sleepy snow leopard, and binturongs, also known as bearcats (which are now the mascot at SUNY Binghamton).  Mason really wanted to see the otters because he saw one at an aquarium over the summer and got a stuffed one, but they seemed to be hiding.  Luckily they came out of hiding for a bit.  They didn't swim, but they climbed a bit.  We also saw sleepy sloths.

One of my favorite animals of the day were these tiny monkeys, squirrel monkeys, I think.  They were super playful, and I even caught this one sneaking a snack.

The aviary had the most lovely birds.  The colors were so beautiful and vibrant!

We wandered back to the front, past a sleeping parrot and back through the donkeys, alpacas, goats, and pigs, in order to finish off the feed pellets and carrots we had left.  Mason really wanted to pan for gems (seems familiar...), so we wandered into the store to buy his bag of dirt.  There we saw an axolotl, another animal we had been talking about over the weekend.  

I also saw this shirt, which cracked me up.

I bought Mason's bag of dirt and we walked back out to the panning area.  I taught him how to do it, and he very much enjoyed rinsing them off.

We did pretty good for the smallest bag!

Before we headed out we went back to the giraffes for a few more minutes.  Oliver was back in the barn, but Kimara was still out.  She's really cute.  Apparently she has expressive ears!

I could have watched them all day!  But alas, it was getting to be closing time so we headed out.  We headed back to the house, had dinner, and started on the evening activity, making more accessories for Mr. Potato Head!  Heather's mom had gone out and picked up some felt at the craft store while we were gone, so we made a list of pieces we wanted and I started creating them.  It was actually pretty fun, although my craft skills are suspect!  We got through most of them before bedtime.  While I was there I read him bedtime books, which was a nice throwback.  We had another late night of talking, and then it was off to bed.

Sunday morning we headed out to church.  They're going to a new one now.  They had some issues at the one they've gone to since Heather moved to Binghamton and started working at their school, so they switched to one that is actually closer to their house and has a Sunday School setup (albeit a small one) for Mason.  It's a small church, but the building is relatively new (due to a fire 10 years ago) and everyone seemed very nice.  I even got to meet Heather's college roommate after all these years.  They ended up estranged for a number of years (long story), so I never got to meet her at the wedding or anything like that.  But they've reconnected, and thank goodness since they definitely couldn't miss each other in such a small church!  Her son seems to play well with Mason, and her younger daughter turned 13 that day, complete with a "13" tiara!

After church, Mason had to show me the play room, and he built this lovely building in my honor.  The sun design around the bottom was all him!  The balloon was from the 13th birthday party prep in the fellowship hall.  We definitely played a bunch of "keepy uppy" for the rest of the day!

We headed home for a late lunch and of course had to turn on the Bills game!  Mason's a big fan and had to bring out all of his Bills Little People!  The beginning of the game was iffy, but thankfully they made a solid comeback and won pretty handily.  After that, it was time to get on the road.  It was a bit of a sad goodbye, but it had been a very fun trip.  The drive home was pleasant--it stayed light for the whole thing, or would have if the family didn't hijack my drive to have me bring home food for dinner from new favorite, Chick Magnet, which was pretty much on my way.  I also had to stop at Kohl's because I had a pick-up order that was 15 minutes away from getting canceled!  It had been a long but good day.

Overall, it was a great trip!  Mason is amazing--so smart and very busy!  He still surprises me with all of the things he knows and remembers and can put together in his mind.  It definitely takes a unique brand of energy to keep up with him!  I realized on this trip that now that he's only a month shy of five, he's nearly the age I was (just a week past my fifth birthday) when Heather and I met.  It's pretty amazing to think about being that young, meeting someone, and being here 42 years later still friends.  It's rare and precious, for sure.  Hopefully this time it won't be another year before I see Mason again (Heather and I at least saw each other in May), as it sounds like maybe they'll head our way for a Strong Museum visit, especially now that there's a dollhouse exhibit open through early January.  Not sure how much I've mentioned this, but Heather's dad built dollhouses, so they were a big part of our childhood together.  So, we'll see.  But we'll call this a successful trip!

It was a bit of a crazy week to come back to--hence why this post is so belated--with lots of appointments for Jacob and a ton of work stuff.  I'll do a catch-up post soon, I hope!