Oakland Zoo

On April 23rd, Cal and I drove up to the Oakland Zoo. Although his face in the following picture suggests otherwise, Cal had a good time. Cal's favorite part was taking the train around the perimeter of the zoo. He is really into machines and cars right now.

Yes, that's a leash he's wearing -- more on that later.

The Oakland Zoo is a little bit smaller, but it was very nicely organized and well-kept. I had Cal on his leash, and we ran into a little girl his age who had on the identical leash. The two of them stared each other down for a few minutes in front of the otter exhibit. That's what babies do when they meet each other: the baby stare-down.

The funnest part was that my childhood best friend, Kerry, drove down from Davis to meet us there. We had a fun time laughing and catching up, and trying to entertain Cal.

I'm pretty sure Cal's favorite part was the giraffe enclosure. And I don't blame him: they are huge! I could barely take my eyes off them myself. It's fun to see Cal interested in things. He was climbing up on the fence, trying to get a better look. When he could adequately see, he watched in silence, eyes wide, for maybe five minutes straight. (I know that may not sound like a long period of time to some of you without kids, but trust me, it felt like hours.)

One benefit of being small: the ability to bypass cautionary railings. Here is Cal getting up close and personal with a curious tortoise. Cal would have climbed right into the pen if it hadn't been for his leash--which, as you can see in the picture, is stretched to the limit.
Sometimes, in the "planning" phase of an activity, I wonder if it's worth it to bring Cal to places like this. It's a fair amount of effort on my part, and I always feel like he ends up ignoring the activity and playing with an elevator button instead (this has happened consistently). I wonder if he's too young to appreciate what I'm showing him, or if he can't really engage with or understand what's before him.

But then, there's always a little part of the day where I can tell he's completely into it, like when I saw his face while riding the little train:

And that moment is pure joy for the both of us.