Boo at the Zoo

Each October, it has become a Smith family tradition to visit Mesker Park's annual Boo at the Zoo.  Although I am a bit late sharing our experiences this year, it was no less fun than ever.  In fact, it seems as if this entire autumn has been a whirlwind of seasonal excitement for us.  Of course, we did learn some valuable lessons this year. 

(1)  Always arrive early.  Normally, we make sure to be one of the first vehicles in the parking lot and aren't afraid to wait in the van a bit in order to ensure an early entrance into the festivities.  Unfortunately, this year duty called me to a prior engagement at OCU that caused us to arrive at the zoo much later than normal.  We barely found a parking space in the third (yes, third!) parking lot available.  Then, we had to wait in a long, lazy line of merry-makers before even making it inside the zoo.  And that was the easy part!

(2) Do as much as possible before darkness descends.  Usually, we are nearly finished with Boo at the Zoo before dusk, but again, this year was problematic for us.  Once inside, it was already darkening.  We found ourselves cordoned off from most activities by more long, lazy lines of people shuffling along in the darkness.  It was difficult to see what was what, or where we were supposed to go.  Luckily, we managed to snag the very last wagon rental at the zoo, a fact that single-handedly saved us from the masses.  We would have likely lost a child or been carrying both of them by night's end.

(3) Bring a stroller, even if your children are older.  Besides the issues mentioned above, it also makes it easier to thread through a befuddled crowd and hit only the areas that you're most interested in seeing.  We tried to mainly hit the candy vendors, the easy-to-complete activities, and the animal encounters.  We avoided the activities that required lengthy information-giving, the skull-touching, or the elaborate craft projects. 

(4) Let your children dictate what you do.  After fighting the crowds (and nearly losing my bladder control due to impossible lines at the isolated restrooms), I was ready to head home and count our loot.  But on the way out, Hudson requested a soft pretzel to nibble while listening to the fun Halloween music playing on the loudspeaker.  And Ava wanted a photo-op with the impressively-costumed Darth Vader impersonator.  My initial response was forget it, but when I ultimately relented, those moments turned out to be my favorite of the night.  We sat on a cold bench, sharing a salty pretzel, listening to Thriller and Monster Mash, and soaking ourselves in Halloween memories.  I love that my kids know what they want, and that they can appreciate the simple joys of unexpected moments.