Yesterday we checked out
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo's preview day (for members only all this week) and had a lovely time. It was especially nice that S was able to join us!
We've really missed the place, and I was nervous to see how it would be after the renovations. I really worried that it would seem overly sanitized and lose its old-school charm. I'm glad to say that, on the whole, the renovations worked well. The kids certainly approved! Benji was particularly charmed to meet "Danny" in person (in Dragon?) though BB wanted nothing to do with anything involving a big fuzzy suit. (One of the many reasons we won't be taking her to Disneyland anytime soon!)
I was very pleased to see that it still felt like Happy Hollow. Some parts were definitely new and shiny, but other parts were hardly changed at all. The place as a whole felt very open and green, which was lovely.
The new lemur areas and the new petting zoo (complete with barn) were big hits with everybody, especially Benji. He loved seeing all the zookeepers.
Where the old petting zoo used to be, there is now a "dinosaur excavation" sandbox. Both kids loved playing paleontologist!
Much of the old zoo area was the same -- I have to say I was sad to see that Sophia the jaguar did not benefit from a larger space, though she seemed pretty content up in her tree when we saw her. Other visits, she's done a lot of pacing, so it was nice to see her relaxing instead. I'm betting she's just glad to have a break from all the construction noise!
We packed a picnic lunch, so we didn't take advantage of the new restaurant this time -- but it looked promising. (Granted, they wouldn't have to do much to improve the former food options at Happy Hollow. Definitely one of the areas that needed updating.)
The brand new carousel was wonderful. All of us really enjoyed it and rode several times. BB seems to be over her fear of merry-go-rounds! Yay! She especially liked the giraffe.
BJ was a big fan of the seahorse.
Later, I discovered that BJ now knows how to wink -- I think he'd just figured out how to while we were riding! As the carousel started up, he said, "Mommy! Take a picture of me winking!" And sure enough, he was:
One odd thing about the carousel (and the rides in general) was the muted music. All the rides had very quiet, canned, piped in music that didn't seem to quite match the rides. Not that I minded the lack of noise so much -- and I can imagine the workers are delighted not to have their ears ringing with repetitive, jarring melodies all day long. But on a merry-go-round, it just doesn't seem the same without a jingling tune!
Both kids loved the ladybugs and had fun riding together.
They were also especially happy that they could still ride the little cars.
There was no doubt that BJ remembered the park. He talked at length about what was new and what wasn't. BB claimed to remember some things like the cars as well, but it's been 20 months since the place was last open -- and she's only been alive just over 37 months! But who knows. She mentioned several times that the last time we were at the park, we ate chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Which is entirely possible; they have been very popular picnic treats for quite some time in our family.
I was glad that the kids were never particularly attached to the crooked house. It was still there, but they had closed it, and while we ate our picnic we saw many excited kids dash over to the house only to turn back, dejected, when they realized it was boarded up.
I loved watching the kids together at the park. They really got along well. That's not always the case, so when it happens it is gratifying to see!
One big disappointment: the renovation of the maze. BJ clearly remembered the old, colorful, concrete maze. In comparison, the new one seemed sanitized and simple. The walls were so short and there were so few genuine twists and turns that there was almost no chance of getting turned around. And isn't getting a little lost the best part of a maze?
Granted, the old maze was gritty and in need of repair -- not to mention all the hard concrete, which certainly doesn't jive with the safety standards of the 21st century. But frankly, the remodel felt to me a bit too much like a cattle chute.
But if they didn't quite get it right for the maze, they did very well with the new playground areas. BJ was thrilled by the enormous climbing structures with slides. They were a bit much for BB, surprisingly -- given how much she loves to climb! I'm sure that as she gets older, she'll enjoy it more. It's nice to see something that the kids will clearly continue to grow into as we visit the park in years to come.
I also liked seeing that the kids had so many opportunities to have active fun, not just sit passively on automated rides. The swing and spinner were very popular and had lines for them just as much as the rides did! We pushed the kids on the swing, and BB insisted on spinning her brother in the spider spinner.
We didn't get to do the rollercoaster or Danny the Dragon, because both were still closed. They have definitely updated the scenery for Danny, though. BB was very intrigued by this Oz scene which we could see alongside Danny's track. She wanted to know about the Wicked Witch and got S telling her all about Dorothy and the Yellow Brick Road. "And what else happens scary in that story, Daddy?"
The new rides were fun, though the wait for them was longer than one might like. The kiddie swings only allow six riders at a time, so it took some time to get to our turn.
BB wanted nothing to do with the swings. "Maybe when I'm older," she said. So she and S went to talk some more about Dorothy and witches and the like, since the swings were right next to Danny's track.
BJ's favorite ride of the day was the last one we rode, a Frog Jump ride that BB decided was even more intimidating than the swings. (She waited in line a bit for the swings before deciding they were too scary; the frog ride got an immediate negative!) She and S tried out the puppet show while BJ and I waited in line.
Like the swings, the frog jump only had a few seats at a time (I think seven?) so it took a good 15 minutes for our turn. He wanted me to ride with him, and alas I didn't get a picture of us together. Too bad, because I'm usually not in the pictures because I'm busy taking them!
But even more than a picture of us on the ride together, I wish I had a recording of BJ's endorsement after we got off the froggie ride. S asked him if he liked it, and BJ replied, "Yeah! It made my penis tickle!"
(Apologies to future teenager BJ for publicly revealing such an embarrassing statement, but it was too priceless to go unrecorded. FWIW, I assure you, future BJ, that you were absolutely unselfconscious about it!)
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We had a very nice day today, celebrating BJ's 5th birthday. (In spite of the fact that both kids tried to get the day going at 5 a.m.) He enjoyed his gifts, of course -- especially those that had a "human body" theme. Family was very generous, and we appreciate it very much. The Some Body game from Auntie B, Uncle R, and cousin B was a big hit.
He settled right down to reading the books from Grandma C and Grandpa D.
The bouncer ball from Giki and Pop-Pop was received so well that he bounced away before I could get a picture! And the Pop Bottle Science kit they gave him promises to be a source of much enjoyment -- he's already planned which experiments we will do first.
But perhaps the most exciting gift was his New Bike (which he talks about as though it were indeed capitalized). It's his first, and since he didn't really do much with the trike, it's really his first extended opportunity to work with anything that has pedals. He loves it.
We spent a good part of the afternoon going around and around the sidewalk loops near our apartment. He kept telling me that he was getting really good exercise. He'd run up to me and demand, "Listen to my heart, Mommy!" And he'd pull my ear down to his chest so I could hear it getting a healthy workout.
And I was so proud of him for figuring out that whole bike thing so quickly -- here he is, in the moment of triumph:
But it turned out a heckuvalot better than it might have! He wanted an ocean theme for the decorating, and he wanted to draw some of it himself, but he was having trouble getting the frosting to squeeze out. So I did the squeezing and he moved my hand where he wanted the frosting to go. He did the octopus (red blob with green legs) and then most of the jellyfish (red blob with yellow legs). Then he declared he'd had enough and I did the rest. That's a green parrotfish eating red coral, I'll have you know. And a yellow angelfish. Just in case you were wondering.
But BB was having a hard time of it by the time the evening rolled around -- and this particular restaurant is one she doesn't especially like. Getting her to eat well is challenging enough at the moment (for whatever reason; I pray it's a phase, and a short one) so we decided it would be best to have me take him out to eat while S and BB stayed home. I had a lovely time sharing a meal with my little boy -- who is truly not so little anymore! The kid ate most of a hunk of grilled tuna, two large grilled shrimp, and a grilled lobster tail. He was in seafood heaven!
After dinner, we came home and had cake together as a family.
As he was getting tucked into bed, BJ declared that he'd had a really good birthday. Mission accomplished!
