Familiarity Can Be Adventurous

     June 19, we returned from out trip to Holland and Grand Haven, Michigan. That evening, we pulled our next destination out of the bowl for the following week. Little did we know that we would wait three weeks before we got to make that trip. While we were able to have two fun trips in between, yesterday was the one we had been waiting on.
     Once again, this trip was appropriate to have an extra passenger with us for the day. Our destination was the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. We had postponed last week because the forecast was calling for a high of 85° and a 20% chance of rain. God decided to give us a little treat this week with a high of 92° and a 40% chance of rain. But we had arranged to have Clara mid-week for the second week in a row. So we really needed to make this trip happen. We got up bright and early to prepare for the two-hour drive to Fort Wayne. A later start would have been nice as Clara, and as a result we, hadn't slept well the night before. But we were meeting Drew's dad, stepmom, sister and nieces.
     This week's trip was all about familiarity. We were returning to the city where we started. We had some nostalgic stops to make but first, a stop at the zoo. Even though Clara happily walked all of Potawatomi Zoo last week, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is much larger and her little legs weren't going to make it all around the zoo. After getting into the zoo, we stopped to rent a wagon. (they have single and double strollers available also. But we decided a wagon would give her a little more freedom to get out and explore things up close.) She climbed in and off we went.
     I love the layout of this particular zoo! It's easy to start at the beginning, wind your way through the paths and see everything along the way. There were a couple areas we intentionally left out because the day was getting long, Clara was getting tired and we were getting hot. The nice thing was, they were animals she had seen last week and wasn't overly impressed by. After hearing the lions roar last week, Clara was a little perturbed that this lion was just sleeping. She kept yelling, "Wake up!" at him but it didn't work.
     All of the rides at the zoo require tokens that cost $1.00 each and are available at token machines right by each ride area. She was able to ride everything but the African Safari sky ride (we'll do that one next year!). I was able to take her on all the rides she asked to go on as they either only charged for anyone over two or didn't charge for adults accompanying children under two. She wanted to ride the train, log ride, carousel and also a pony! She loved the first two, wasn't overly crazy about the carousel and enjoyed the pony ride once she got going. She wasn't too sure at first. But Sparky (the pony she chose) walked nice a slow. I'm not sure she was ready to bid Sparky farewell at the end of the ride, but we had more to do.
     Another thing I like about this zoo is the fact that they have misters that give you a nice cool mist for some relief from the heat as you walk around the zoo. There are also lots of benches, many of which are under nice shade trees. There is an air conditioned building in the Indonesian Rain Forest area as well as the Australian Outback. So there are ways to beat the heat along the way. There are also plenty of places to get cold drinks along the way. In fact, if you but a collectible cup, you can have it refilled for $.99 at any of the refreshment stands.
     We had brought a picnic lunch but there are no longer picnic tables available. So, with no place to eat lunch and the in-laws gone, we were on our own for lunch. We opted to find someplace cool to relax and get something to eat. Not too far from the zoo is a Skyline Chili. Drew had never eaten there before. We had a delicious lunch, got cooled off and rested our feet awhile. Great service, delicious food and all three of us ate for under $20.00! Can't beat that!

1st date started here

We first met at Bonaventure Hall

     After lunch, we went on our little nostalgic tour of Fort Wayne. We stopped by University of Saint Francis to get see the dorm where we met each other for the first time, went to the former campus of Taylor University Fort Wayne where Drew picked me up for our first date over a year later and past our first home together. It was fun to see what places are still open, what has been rebuilt or remodeled and just reminisce about "old" times.

Our 1st home - upstairs left side

     We had one more treat planned for Clara. It wasn't new for us as we had just been there a couple weeks prior. But we were sure she would enjoy it. We made the trip to North Webster to ride the Dixie. It was a beautiful night for a paddle boat ride and the boat was much less crowded than the last time. Clara loved it! Captain Ron made sure to let everyone on the boat know that it was her first ride and she got to help steer the boat for a bit. It was great!
     After our boat ride, Clara and I dipped our toes into Webster Lake before loading up in the car for the drive home. We had a late lunch so supper wasn't needed at that point. We picked up a Happy Meal for her to eat in the car and headed towards South Bend to drop her off so she could tell her stories of the day to Mommy, Daddy and Baby Sister. We saw a beautiful sunset on our drive home! After a long day of travel in the heat, it was sure good to be home! Only four more #wackywednesdaywanderings left before I return to school. Summer break is quickly fading! It's a good thing our sense of adventure isn't!