Temple Square a la East ...
ZOO LIGHTS
Each year the National Zoo opens up after hours to put on their Zoo Lights display. Christmas music is piped through speakers, and you can wander through the zoo to enjoy thousands of Christmas lights. (Sorry about Elijah's mouth. It was the only picture that ended up being in focus!)
Throughout the zoo they have the traditional tree lights, paths lit by projected stars & snowflakes, and then the highlight of it all: dozens of animal light displays. (Most of the real animals were asleep, but the barn was open so we got to go in there and see the goats, cows, donkeys, etc.) The kids enjoyed this more than normal Christmas lights because they loved recognizing the different animals. It was hilarious!
Last, but not least, I just have to do a shout out to the Maryland Blue Crab. Marylanders are really funny about the blue crab. They talk about it ALL THE TIME. Blue crabs are apparently an eastern shore delicacy that are sought worldwide. They are found in the Chesapeake Bay, so they are plentiful here in Maryland ("the crab capitol of the world"). There are dozens of websites and children's books about the blue crab. There is even a beauty pageant dedicated to the blue crab and the winner is dubbed "Miss Crustacean". Yeah, I know. There was a huge group of people around this particular display, everyone waiting to take a picture with it. And just as I'm explaining why to Samuel (who was, until that evening, unaware of the hype), a little kid runs by us and yells, "Look, Mom! The Maryland Blue Crab!"
14 comments:
What a fun tradition the zoo has! It looks like a blast! Glad the kids enjoyed it. The blue crab obsession is so funny. The only thing I can relate it with was when we lived in Buffalo and everyone had an obsession with Florida. It was weird. People were always going to Florida for some reason or another. All the time. It was weird. But not as weird as getting pictures taken by a blue crab.
I love it! The Phoenix Zoo does the same thing and we went last year. Oh and I had no idea you had a side by side double stroller. You'd think after living together for 3 months we would've eventually discussed things like that - but we're in the market to purchase one. Which kind do you have and do you like it?
Angie - we have a Jeep Wrangler Twin Sport All Weather and we like it a lot. It doesn't have baskets or anything like that, but it folds small and is relatively light. We chose it because it was the only top-rated stroller on Consumer Reports that we could afford (the others all cost $200-$400, and this one was $90). I did quite a bit of research and decided that, at least for us, this was the best bet. Good luck deciding!
I think my favorite part of the whole trip was probably seeing the armadillo. I've never seen an armadillo in real life, and they're awesome!
The naked mole rat exhibit was pretty cool, too. They had the mole rats living in see-through burrows, so you could see what the little guys were doing. And the naked mole rat light display was funny, too. I mean, really, who makes a light display of a naked mole rat?!
And yeah, the blue crab thing is weird. And I really want to eat one before we leave here.
Wow that looks cool!
That looks like a ton of fun! We need your address... email me or put it on our blog. johnboysteve@yahoo.com
Thanks!
People crazy about a blue crab? WEIRD! But, I guess if it's a local identification, that's cool. Kind of like New Mexico and Pluto the Planet. :-)
So, out of curiosity, have you eaten the famous blue crab?
Sarah - not yet, but we have plans. Babysitters round these parts are expensive (the women who visit teach me said to plan on $10 an hour for three kids - TEN DOLLARS AN HOUR!) So we are planning on going out for blue crab on Valentines. And splurging on a babysitter. I'll let you know if it is any good! :)
That's funny about the blue crab. The lights look great. I'd love to take Daerik someplace like that. Maybe they have it at our zoo, I'll have to check it out. I bet they slept well after the trip, Seara looks tired.
i love your new header! we miss these things with google reader.
Merry Christmas! Looks like a blast. They do a similar thing here at the Phoenix Zoo, but this one looks top notch. I love the bit about tha blue crab. Just think, little girls all over the state are dreaming about becoming the next Miss Crustacean. Ha ha! Yes--you have to give them a try and give us your review.
hey thanks for posting all those zoo light pics. The girls are here at the pc with me and they were entertained for a good 20 minutes looking at all the animals! The zoo near Olympia, WA does zoo lights every Christmas too. I'm hoping to get the kids over this year to see them.
I love the blue crab story! The lights look really fun...we have a street here in Idaho Falls that is actually named Candy Cane Lane and almost every house on the street is lit up to just about over-kill. We take a night to drive down it every year on Christmas Eve. It's amazing how much work these people put into the yard displays and house lights. Honestly, I hate putting up lights...if I had the extra cash, I'd definitely hire out the job.
What a fun family outing! I would love to take my kids to something like that. Last time I was out east, he had me buy him some frozen crab cakes and wanted me to bring them home as a carry-on. So I kind of understand the crab thing.
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