Sadly our field trip day was cut a bit short when while sitting in the shade for a moment our baby was stung in the face by a bee, right on the nose. None of our kids had ever been stung before so we didn’t know if any of them would have the reaction to bees that I have. We rushed over to the nearest membership booth not seeing any staff or other help in sight. The lady was very nice and let us know the care center was a ways away near the police building. She gave the baby some animal crackers that I thought a bit odd because why would they help a screaming baby hurting in the heat, she needed ice, not cookies. Goodness I was wrong. While baby kept telling us “ouchy nose” and crying off and on, the cookies helped her focus on something else and so the long walk to the care center that is kind of tucked away went better. I am very thankful to the lady who thought to give baby the cookies. When we got the care center I finally got a good look at her. We stayed for a few minutes with the nurse and saw that baby has no uncommon reaction. They put some anti-itch cream on her and ice for a moment and baby was back to normal. I think my husband and I where more shaken by it than she was at that point. When we got inside a restaurant I took a photo of her little face.
After she was recovered we managed to see a bit more of the zoo.
We got to see a very photo friendly lion and a very sleepy tiger that most visitors didn’t seem to be able to find in the enclosure. It was really hot out so I couldn’t blame the tiger for being sleepy, by then I was too. Between the heat, keeping baby happy, and then her getting stung it was a good time to make plans to come back to the zoo. We hit the gift shop on the way out, our oldest daughter got a necklace, our son got a tiny adorable tiger stuffed animal and some post cards for a pen pal and his Memere, our 5 year old got some animal toys, and our baby got a zoo sippy cup. TIP: Remember that the zoo is free and they make their money on the food, parking, and gift shops so it is a good idea to plan to bring money to spend to support the zoo.
We hope to go back next month and see the Giant Panda bears that the zoo is fairly famous for and many of the other animals we missed today. We spent about 3 hours in the zoo and saw only half of the animals thanks in part to the bee! Remember to bring sun screen, water, find ways to keep cool, get there for parking before 10:30am, and make note of where the care center is in case you need it!
Even with the bee sting the baby has talked all evening about the zoo and she loved the animals, specially the big cats. The kids are all excited to go back. My mission now is to also plan to go to a zoo where they have giraffes and penguins as this one doesn’t and those are animals we specially want to see!
It was a great start to our school year and we hope the start of the school year for all of you goes wonderfully, and without any stings!
