Lincoln Park Zoo

Since the weather cooperated last week, we scrapped our plans for the Adler Planetarium and spent the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Last summer, we went with a group from our church and it ended up being a horrible experience. Not because of the people from the church, but because I went unprepared to deal with J's sensory disorder. Any chance we had of enjoying ourselves went out the window when I ignored what should be second nature by now. At the point in the day when all three of us were in tears, I promised the girls that we would come back someday and do it right. I am happy to report that this time, all went well.

The highlight of the day was the Aardvark. I am glad that my children can see creatures they wouldn't normally see, but zoos sometimes seem a little sad to me; especially when an animal acts the like the equivalent of an autistic child rocking itself under the kitchen table. It just reinforces how I feel about the stewardship of God's creation. But that aardvark was thumbing his nose at us all. He might have been in captivity, but he wasn't about to act the way his keepers wanted him to act. He was going to ignore the fake termite mound and sleep in the Rubbermaid garbage can and there wasn't a dang thing they could do about it. I loved it.

We only got through half of the zoo, so we'll have to go back and finish later this year. Some thoughts:

• There is no such thing as a Free zoo.
• People from Wisconsin in extended cab pickup trucks should not attempt U turns on Michigan avenue.
• I loved squished pennies. 51 cents and you've got a souvenir. Hang the gift shop.
• There is no accounting for taste in art in Chicago.
• We don't care if they did change the name. We're still calling it the Sears Tower.
• J knows more about animals than I ever will, and I'm not afraid to defer to her.