Zoo Day!!

This past Saturday, I worked at the Fort Wayne zoo, alongside our intern, Anna. Not gonna lie to you. I was nervous going into this one. I'd been to this zoo only once before, and it was last fall for another work event. I hadn't been the one to drive that day, so I paid little attention to how we got there or navigated our way through the zoo. I stayed put in our spot all day and as a result...I had no clue where to go in this place.

To top it off, Anna hadn't been there before either. So at 7:45 in the morning, two non-morning rookies, armed with caffeinated beverages, set out at the mercy of a GPS (in a town currently laden with construction and detours) to a brand new place.

You get the nerves, right?

I didn't fall asleep OR get lost OR wreck the van, even while trying to maneuver it through a walking path at the zoo. Anna and I set up the tent (another source of nervousness for me, as this tent knows me personally and hates me) and got ready for a morning of fun!!

 Anna and the prize wheel. Yep, it was like Wheel of Fortune! This time the fortune was in the form of water bottles, pens, mood pencils, fling rings, bookmarks, and animal shaped notebooks.

 Our working instructions ended with the admonition to not let any animals escape. Gulp. Seriously?!?!?! Is that even possible? I could only imagine: "Hey Mom? Can you wire me some money? I have to buy a replacement kangaroo..."

So I'm thrilled to report they are, indeed, safe and sound. And in their little spot.

 Anna and I had a few minutes to spare between setup and the zoo opening, so we peeked around a bit. The sea otters had a lot of waving to do...we liked our own personal sea otter show!

 Pretty peacock!! They just ran around for fun! No cage required!!

 Bekah, the coffee and the prize wheel!

We did have so much fun out there...so interesting to meet people!

And not let the animals escape.