Monday

We went to the zoo...zoo...zoo...
over the holiday weekend...
with some old friends from our years in Vail.
Our zoo has an amazingly beautiful carousel. I've seen it from afar many a time but this was my first time riding it. I've been a bit of a carousel-animal afficionado since an early age. When I was small, my friend's parents acquired an antique carousel horse which they installed in their livingroom. Oh, how I coveted that horse, It had a flowing silver mane and a jewel on its breastplate. My family didn't have the means to purchase such a treasure, so it acquired mythical proportions for me. Ever since, I've sought out the finest carousel animals at carnivals and zoos in my travels. I have to say that our zoo has some of the most beautiful I've seen. Q has good taste, and she picked the zebra, which would have been my choice too.
Mike and Q with Matt and his daughter Maisie (who is almost two years older than Q, just to give you an idea of Q's relative height!) Matt and I worked together in the newsroom for a couple of years back in the day, and Mike and Matt played in a band together in subsequent years, before we left the Vail Valley. Our history intertwines. It's good to reunite with old friend from another phase of our lives.
More of the fabulous wildlife on the carousel.
I love to see monkeys drinking. There's something about the posture that I find so lovely.
A proud lion.

Q in contemplation, waiting for the ride to begin.

As you can see, Q and I very much enjoyed our ride.

My mum riding a tiger. Like mother like daughter, like granddaughter - none of us can resist a good carousel.
The lorikeet habitat is maybe our favorite part of the zoo these days.
The first time we took Q to feed the lorikeets, she was a bit alarmed by an enterprising bird that landed on her shoulders. She has repeated the story to us many a time since. But on a holiday weekend, the birds are overfed and feeling rather laconic, so not very intimidating.


After the zoo, we stopped by Steve's Snappin' Dogs for some of our favorite post-zoo treats - Jersey dogs, flash-fried green beans and onion rings, topped off by the famous frozen banana with a chocolate coating and rainbow sprinkles. Who can resist?

7 comments:

Daan said...

Such a great carrousel!! and wow those frozen bananas sound so yummy!

lovepics said...

i'm a big fan too of these old carrousels...
and love the blue bird ... "paon", how do you call them in english?

Yoli said...

What a lovely day Maia and how magical. All the pictures are beautiful but I have to say that the one that stuck out for me and had me rolling on the floor laughing is of intrepid Q looking at the peacock while Mike has a hold of her backpack! Priceless!

Maia said...

Paon is peacock in English. Aren't they beautiful? There are several that roam around the zoo and my mother took several gorgeous photos. I particularly like this one because of the tail flowing down the hill like a waterfall.

Yanyan said...

oh lovely, that is our usual weekend activity as well, thanks to the San Diego Zoo! First time when Landon saw Peacock, he thought that is a beautiful big hen! And Maia, I like your hair style, usually you hide them under the hat!

pve design said...

so many things to enjoy each day with you.
pve

Maia said...

Yoli, my mother took that picture. Isn't it wonderful? The father's protective hand quick to make sure she's being careful (though I think he was more worried for the peacock than for Q ;)

Yanyan - I love the San Diego zoo, though I haven't been there in a few years. It sets a high bar for other zoos to live up to.
As for the hair...I have been very fond of my hat this summer, since work and time have made it difficult for me to worry about my hair most days. This was a rare day on which I had finally had a much-needed cut at the salon, so I was able to go without the hat!