The Zoo times two

After the success of our little excursion to the Santa Barbara Aquarium, I was feeling a little bold, so I decided to take Colin into town to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo. Now, Kevin and I had already taken him once, right after we got to town, but this was my first time to do it by myself. And let me tell you, it's a bit of a trek. From the apartment where we're staying, it's a 25-minute bus ride followed by two short trolley rides, and if that doesn't sound like much, try doing it with an impatient toddler.

But we made it, and Colin's reward for being such a trooper on the long journey was that he could have free rein inside the park. After all, I had already seen everything once, so we could just do what he wanted, which didn't include a whole lot of animal-watching. He was much more intent on pushing his stroller up all the small hills and winding curves of the grounds and playing on the zoo's playground. Oh, and the "choo-choo train" was a big hit, too--as always.

I didn't get to see any of my favourites: the lions, the giraffes, or the gorillas, but for being such a trooper I got my own reward. On our return journey, Colin fell promptly asleep in his stroller, so Mama got to stop off for lunch in a real restaurant and read the newspaper for a whole hour. Bliss!