Page 72 of 3 Daddies to Go

Kendall shrugs.

“I have no idea.”

As we leave, the plaque informs us that wallabies are herbivores. “Good, I really didn’t want to be someone else’s dinner tonight,” Kendall says.

I wink at her. She’s going to be our dinner if things go well. She blushes and hurries along to the next stop.

After we’ve walked around the entire zoo, including a long visit with Kendall’s elephants, we spot the small train station.

“What’s that?” I ask Kendall.

“You can take a ride around the perimeter of the zoo! It’s really fun. They tell you about all the animals.”

I take one of her hands, and Tag takes the other.

“Let’s do it!”

Tanner agrees, following behind us.

The train conductor is a young woman with long, dark hair. Her smile looks genuine when she sees us.

“Welcome aboard!” she burbles. “Are you ready for a ride?”

We nod. I sit beside Kendall with Tanner and Tag in front of us.

“My name is Sally, and I’ll be your conductor today. Please don’t get out of the train, and keep your hands and feet inside. Otherwise, have a great time! I’ll be telling you about the animals, and if you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them for you.”

Sally climbs into the front of the train and toots the horn a few times, making sure we’re clear to go. She gets the train going, and we start our slow trip around the outside of the park.

“Coming up on the left, you’ll see our koi pond,” Sally says. “If you look at the little island in the middle, you’ll notice a tall bird standing watch. That’s our resident heron. He wasn’t brought into the zoo; he flew here on his own and decided to stay. We’re happy to have him, though.”

“That’s so cool!” Kendall says. “He found his home here.”

We chat a bit more as we make our way around the zoo. Sally keeps us informed with facts about the animals, but most of the time we’re free to look and talk as much as we want.

“You guys know my favorite is the elephant,” Kendall says. “What are your favorite animals?”

I shrug.

“I never really thought about it. Those wallabies were pretty cool.”

“I liked the zebras,” Tag says. “It’s cool that they’re mysterious.”

Tanner thinks for a few seconds before adding that he likes the giraffes. “No animal should be that tall,” is his reasoning.

“Why do you like the elephants?” I ask Kendall.

She laughs.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I always have. I guess I just think they’re really cute. Have you ever seen a baby elephant running around? It’s the most adorable thing.”

We’re passing by a group of flamingos when Tag says, “Hey, look, it’s Trudy! Her hair looked like that at the wedding.”

Tanner and I laugh. A crowned crane sits alone in an exhibit. His gold feathers on his head look a lot like Trudy’s mess of hair on her wedding day. Her hairdresser should be fired.

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Kendall says, pouting. “My hair looked like that too.”

I kiss the top of her head.