To the zoo!

We took my 90-year-old grandmother to the zoo today. That wasn't part of any grand plan, but it worked out nicely. We've been trying to get to Cuero to visit her more often of late, and Friday I asked Grandma if she'd let me take her to lunch on Sunday. Sometimes she's not enthusiastic about going out, but this time she was agreeable. She insisted, though, that we go someplace of my choosing. Since Cuero doesn't have many decent restaurants, I thought I'd surprise her by taking her to nearby Victoria. And since it's be a shame to make that drive and not do anything else, I remembered that Victoria had a zoo that we might spend some time at afterward.



I've got a bit of history with the Texas Zoo at Victoria. When I was very young--say, 3 years old or thereabouts--my parents took me to visit. I don't remember much, other than the fact they had a broken-down miniature train folks could have ridden at one time, much like the ones in Landa Park, Breckenridge Park and Zilker Park, and baby deer that I got to feed corn to. When my parents took me back a few years later, it was closed for remodeling, and stayed closed for the better part of a decade, it seems. This was my first trip back in close to 38 years.



It's a nice little zoo, although quite small. The focus is on Texas native animals, although they had a few exotics--a couple of very active tigers, some lemurs and two young Barbary lions, which are extinct in the wild and critically endangered even in captivity. There was also the prerequisite petting zoo, featuring a sheep, several grumpy pot-bellied pigs and quite a few miniature goats, including the pugnacious one pictured above. I appreciate the focus on native wildlife, but have to admit I'd have liked to see mountain lions, ocelots, jagarundi, white tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope in the zoo. Badgers, prairie dogs, a litter of hyperactive baby possums, some endangered red wolves, a bobcat, coyotes, foxes and javelina were willing to entertain. The white-lipped coati, below, was possibly the most exotic native on display. I'm a little shamefaced to admit I hadn't realized they were native to Texas--I thought they were limited to Brazil. Duh.



Grandma enjoyed the trip immensely. We had lunch at Golden Corral, which, although not a luxury dining establishment by any means, had the barbecued chicken and sweet potatoes and green bean casserole that Grandma enjoyed, plus some hot peach cobbler for dessert. The travel had worn her down a bit, but the zoo had a wheelchair we could use, and I was able to wheel her around the entire zoo so she could see all the animals. Despite protests of not wanting to be a burden, she got a kick out of the free-roaming guineas and peacocks, and watched the exotic animals with fascination. I think she got more entertainment out of my kids' antics, though. At the end of the day she was talking of visiting San Antonio's much larger zoo in the near future--and then going shopping afterward. All in all, a lot of fun for everyone involved.

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