A recent trip to the Albuquerque Rio Grande Zoo took me back-- way back, to childhood and memories of trips to that same zoo when I was just "knee-high to a grasshopper."
Some of my fondest zoo memories were still present and accounted for:
The urge to jump right in the water with the seals, who always look like they're having so much fun- A tremendous yen, big as I am now, to indulge once again in the "camel ride."
- The futility of trying desperately to spot some of the well-camouflaged denizens whose cage labels tantalizingly promised a view of an exotic creature that really just didn't seem to be present.
- The mental calculation of a cheetah's likely jumping range vs. the height of the wall they'd have to scale in order to "get us" still leads me to conclude that those cheetahs could have "Laura lunch" if they really felt motivated!
The amazement at how like us the great apes are, and the sadness at seeing them confined to the boredom of a caged life
I must admit, though, a few of the exhibits just didn't have quite the same effect they once had on the toddler Laura:
I just couldn't feel that same frisson of fear in looking at the big snakes; their somnolent behavior is just to stultifying now, or maybe somewhere along the line I've gotten over the infant's instinctive fear of reptiles.- The elephants just don't look as amazingly HUGE as they once did, darn it! (Maybe it's because my size has gradually more and more approached theirs as middle age set in???)
Still, my little zoo trip down memory lane was very enjoyable. I'm glad to have gone recently, and even gladder to have had the experience in those long ago days...
Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, if your small fry haven't had a chance to make some zoo memories for themselves yet, maybe this virtual tour will spur you to get them out there!
For more information about Albuquerque homes or relocation, visit my Albuquerque real estate website any time. Or just email nmbroker@earthlink.net, or give me a call at (505)239-4796.
Laura Warden, Choices Real Estate
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