Day at the NC Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo with some friends. The NC Zoological Park is in Asheboro, about 2 hours from home. Well, it is 2 hours if you take the right road. When you and the driver are talking the whole way and don't notice that you are on the wrong road, it takes about 3 1/2 hours.

The forecast was for scattered showers and thunderstorms, but we risked it and were glad - there were a couple of brief showers, but mostly the day was partly sunny, warm, and rather muggy. There were 10 of us - Amanda, Jason, and me, and then my friend Eileen and her 6 kids - 15-y-o Ellie, 6 y-o twin boys, 4 y-o boy, and 2 y-o twin girls. We were quite a crew! The kids really enjoyed themselves - and did great with all the walking! The NC Zoo is HUGE, and we walked for miles, I'm sure. The animals are in natural habitats, but are easily viewed. There are also several "play spaces" scattered throughout the zoo, which made for a nice break for the kids from time to time.

Since we are homeschoolers, we got to visit for FREE. During the school year, you can call the zoo 2 weeks ahead and make a reservation as a homeschool, and one parent and all school-age children get free admission. Eileen did have to pay for her 3 pre-schoolers, but the other 4 of them got in for free, so it was a great deal!

There were a few school groups there on field trips. They were the wildest animals in the park, I think. The younger kids were fine - excited, but generally polite and friendly - and there were adults WITH them. But the middle school age kids were obnoxious! They were roaming the zoo in packs, without any adult supervision, which meant they were loud, silly, and sometimes downright rude. You know they wouldn't have behaved that way if their parents or teachers had been with them to hold them accountable. Grrr.

Snake Wrestling!
(don't worry ! it's not real )

Eco-camp



Sisters!