I had been meaning to take him to the downtown Greenville airport to watch the planes take off and land for a while. I knew there were some good places to park to be able to see the planes up close and since it's the busiest general aviation in the state, the frequency of takeoffs and landings is also high enough that you're sure to see something. I had also seen lots of postings on Facebook of folks taking their kids to eat at The Runway Cafe at the airport and thought that Max would probably like eating lunch right next to a runway too. When I read in The Greenville Journal that a new park (just a greenspace for now, but going to be really cool in the future) had just opened beside the airport and had great views of the runways, that sealed the deal. So two Saturdays ago, when the weather could not have been nicer, we loaded up and headed to the airport.
After some driving around the airport, we finally found the park, which is actually directly beside The Runway Cafe, and we hopped out to take a look. (Also being held that day on the airport grounds was a fun-sounding event called "Woofstock"...which seemed to be some concerts that you could bring your dog too. Too bad we didn't know about that, or Bailey could have come with us!)
After spending a fair amount of time watching planes and running around in the grass (well, that was mostly Max), we did opt to have lunch at The Runway Cafe. It's a really cool place, particularly the outside patio seating beside the runway. A plane or two came in and parked as we watched, so that was good meal-time entertainment. It's a very casual-food kind of place, but Max was really pleased with his mini corn dogs; let's face it, doesn't everyone love a corn dog?
After lunch we took another run around the park and then had to practically force Max to leave. All-in-all, a great place to take a kid for a couple of hours. It actually reminded me of the Saturday mornings when we were little that Dad would take us all downtown to the train station to watch the trains. (Which Max would be ALL about as well)
The next day we decided to make our yearly pilgrimage to the Riverbanks Zoo. It was, again, the perfect day to be outside - we were able to comfortably wear short sleeves and shorts. Of course, everyone else in SC had the same idea and the zoo was quite crowded, but that's ok.
We started out our zoo tour at my favorite spot - the penguin habitat. We were also happily just in time for the penguin feeding! I was so excited! Max, however, was initially scared of the penguins. Yes, of the penguins. I have no idea where that came from, because he typically adores penguins, or "hookins" as he calls them. But after walking around the building and looking at all the other birds, he was ready to finally get close to the penguins.
He eventually realized that he could also interact with the penguins.
The actual penguin feeding wasn't that exciting - picture some girls hurling fish around the exhibit and the penguins running after it. There was another zookeeper talking as they did so, but with all the screeching of little children going on around me, I wasn't really able to hear much. I did hear her explain that it was necessary to hand-feed the penguins by giving specific penguins specific fish laced with vitamins specifically required by their species since their fish arrived frozen and therefore did not provide all the vitamins they require. Interesting, and kind of sad.
Anyway, onward and upward. We next headed over to the gorilla exhibit, because their scheduled feeding time was coming up; but after standing around there with a gazillion other folks, we decided to come back later. I never did get any good pictures of the gorillas, which is sad, but I did get a picture of these 2 monkeys in the gorilla building.
After our picnic lunch, we moseyed on over to the barnyard area to check out the farm animals. Also located in the farmyard area is a....ZaZa!!! Sadly, this train isn't even on par with the train in Heritage Park...it's a train imposter and doesn't even ride on tracks. But Max was fooled, and insisted on riding it. There went $4 we'll never see again; but he enjoyed it.
What he did not enjoy nearly as much, however, was feeding the goat. I have no idea what was going on with him that day - he has no problem touching the goats at the Greenville Zoo, but I guess this goat was a stranger.
Eventually we made it to what I consider the highlight of the Zoo trip each time we go: the giraffe exhibit where you can feed the giraffes a handful of lettuce. (For only $2, which I consider to be a MUCH better use of your money than the fake-train ride!) If you recall our visit last year, Max was quite a sport when it came to feeding the giraffes. But this time he had to warm up to the idea (still so unsure what was going on with him that day). Luckily, he did eventually come around...
and he and I had a grand old time feeding these guys. (Chris of course says that I have the most fun of anyone, which I'm sure is true).
Chris is contemplating a side-career as a nature photographer, if you know anyone who is interested in hiring one:
(Seriously, though, is that an incredibly cute face or what? The giraffe has lately been giving the penguin a run for his money in the "Robin's favorite animal" contest.
Chris and I decided that you really can't beat the Riverbanks Zoo for the price; particularly when you get half off with your Greenville Zoo membership and your kid is free (minus that non-train ride!) We had a great day and can't wait to take our newest (still-not-named) family member on her introductory zoo trip soon!
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