Zoo Camp, Santa Barbara Zoo and Botanical Gardens, July 7 2004

I love the Santa Barbara Zoo. Plain and simple, since I've had children, the Santa Barbara Zoo has been an awesome place. It's small, has interesting animals, and it's right on the beach. My kids love it, and it tires them out enough where they take long naps after they get home. It's too small for them to get lost in, the bathrooms are clean, and the little playground area is well kept. It even has a small train which circles the entire zoo that my whole family can ride on. And to go along with all that, the parking's free and the food is pretty good.

The year long zoo pass is the way to go for families like mine. It's a tax deduction, which can come in handy, and if we go only twice a year, it pays for itself.

This year we sent my son to the week long day camp. I couldn't think of anything more cool for a five year old. Go to the zoo everyday for a week? Hang out with a bunch of kids the same age? Check out animals, sing songs, make crafts? Does life truly get any better?

This is the third day, and he seems into it. As a special bonus for me, I've been hanging out Santa Barbara. I tried out a new sandwich place, Norton's Pastrami, which had excellent pastrami and roast beef sandwiches and good pickles, and right now I'm writing in Liquid Culture, a coffee house on State Street. It's an excuse to not do work around the house.

Zoo Camp is cool.

And in a quick side note...as I was heading back to the zoo, waiting for the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District State Street Shuttle, (Which costs only a quarter), supervisor David Morse drove up. He said that everything was running a little behind, and a shuttle would be up shortly. At this point, it was 2:15, and zoo camp ended at 2. I was clearly agitated, and he looked at me and said "Do you have someplace you need to be?"

I explained the whole zoo camp situation, and he offered me a lift, which I gladly accepted, handing him my bus transfer. He drove me to the zoo, which I greatly appreciated.

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