Gorgeous day for mom's in St. Louis. I went to the St. Louis Zoo with my mom, 2 brothers, sister-in-law, 3 year old niece, one year old nephew, and seven year old nephew. Weather started off a little cool and warmed up.
We were lucky because after we parked at the North Entrance parking lot it was full and they closed it. Had we been a little later it would have been horrible to find a place to park and walk with the kids. Well I would have wheeled:)
Most of the zoo is easy for me to navigate in my wheelchair, but there are a few areas that have steep grades and some spots that I feel like I'm leaning a little to one side or the other. One of the first places we visited was the Penguin and Puffin Cove. One of the penguins jumped off a rock close to me and I was splashed in the hair and face. Not to bad so I was laughing as I wheeled away to a safe distance to clean my glasses:)
The kids loved it. My niece insisted that she had to ride with Grandma so we got her seat set up and on the way to the zoo talked about the different animals including the prairie dogs, which are her uncle's favorite animal. Only she called them fairy dogs and said she didn't like them until we made it to the prairie dog exhibit for a quick stop and then leave for the new seal exhibit. Daddy had to go back and keep her from climbing in with them. As we started to enter the tunnel she started to freak out so daddy held her and I gave her a jacket because she said she was cold.
Her daddy tried to hit me up for some allergy medicine but it was at home. Mom suggested I check with one of the souvenir kiosks and when I asked if they had one the lady said she did---and got it out of her own purse and handed us one for him. We didn't expect that at all and it came packaged so we knew what it was. That's one of the things I love about St. Louis is how friendly the people are and helpful.
After the seal's we headed for the elephants and was able to see one of the baby's and I think Raja. The zoo is still working on their new habitat and even had pictures of it along the trail. Looks like it's going to be beautiful.
Not the easiest path at times, but I had my brother's to help get me through. I need to get back to the gym and build my arms up more.
The train ride was the last thing we did and it was great. There's a car right behind the engine that holds wheelchairs and scooters that includes a bench that people can sit behind you. So if you have a young child in a wheelchair you can be right there if they get scared or too excited. The engineer seat belted me in and tied down my wheelchair and then closed the canopy over me. There are a couple of tunnels that you go through that kind of look like clean sewer tunnels.
Well heading to bed for a good night sleep because tomorrow I'm having lunch with an amputee support group. Never been to one before. I'm hoping that not only can I contribute, but I can learn some news things to try out and share with others.
Keep rolling with your head held high!
