It was a beautiful day today, and since 
Moose is feeling much better (really he didn't miss a beat) you know where we were... the zoo. In fact, we decided it was time that we made the drive to Battle Creek for our first visit this year to Binder Park Zoo and its friendly giraffes. We can't lie - we weren't nearly as excited about seeing the friendly giraffes as we were about seeing Calvin seeing the friendly 
giraffes. Unfortunately the day didn't go as smoothly as planned (do they ever???) but after getting a late start and spending 20 minutes in construction traffic we had previously been unaware of, we were pleased to find the zoo busy but not packed, and the weather warm but not stiffling. As per our usual routine we headed 
straight for the tram to Africa. The trip to Africa made Calvin a little nervous (not upset, just a little uneasy), but the visit with the giraffes was a big hit: he thought they were hilarious. He was a little unsure of feeding them, those are big tongues, after all, but he was a good sport about it just the same. And he had a lot more fun on the tram ride 
back. Back in the American half of the zoo he got the chance to spend even more time with funny animals in the petting part of the zoo, his favorites being the pigs, the goats coming in a close second. He also enjoyed petting a Ball Python before he got back to the car and headed home to grill dinner and enjoy watermelon on the front porch.
You can, of course, find a plethora of pictures from today in our June 30 - July 6 photo album.
And a quick environmental plug we feel we 
have to mention - we were pleasantly surprised this evening to see that Kroger is now selling reusable shopping bags. We bought 4 and will buy more if we have to, but it looks like we'll have to find a new (and more environmentally friendly) way to clean up after the dogs. The bags are great and we hope you'll check them out, too.