I finally succumbed to the seven-year itch, the one that makes you restless. I'm talking about living on the wild side: visiting a different zoo. You know, checking out another tiger's lair, seeing a different elephant's barn. I love the Woodland Park Zoo and all, but sometimes you just want to sample a new zoo.
So we went to Tacoma. I don't typically leave Seattle unless plane or train tickets are involved, but last weekend my husband and I took the kids to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium [0] for the new exhibit Animal Avenue [1]. Animal Avenue features cavelike tunnels, a sandpit and interactive displays; ring-tailed lemurs, glow-in-the-dark scorpions and meerkats.
The meerkat mob wasn't on display yet -- apparently they're stuck in a government-mandated quarantine -- but Animal Avenue's fresh, shiny playground provided the kids with imaginary play opportunities. My son poked his head up through a pink plastic anemone, scrambled up a rope spider web, then hid inside a two-foot tall faux snail home (if you see one of these snails in your garden, run).
We convinced him to come out of his shell, pointing out the cherry-red super-slippery slides, an art-deco jungle gym for human primates and a water feature on hot days. A nearby petting area offers both very hungry goats and goat food dispensers.
The paths aren't as long or wide-ranging as Woodland Park Zoo's, but they are steeper -- great for running, hiking and expending kid-energy. Paved and dirt paths lead to red wolves, crested porcupines, polar bears and other creatures not in supply at our zoo (hey baby, you know I'll never leave you).
Ocean Commotion
This weekend may be a particularly good time to make your way south on I-5, because Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium will be celebrating World Ocean Day [2].
Point Defiance's underwater areas feature both small and large sea life: kids can gently stroke starfish and spiny sea cucumbers in the Marine Discovery Center, then shriek when ghostly, gossamer belugas sweep past underwater windows in the Rocky Shores section. Point Defiance is the only aquarium in the Pacific Northwest that hosts beluga whales. The next-nearest beluga bay is up in Vancouver, B.C.
(Overheard at the beluga window, courtesy of an unknown 5-year-old boy: "That's the whale I want to be when I grow up.")
Hungry like the red wolf?
Post-zoo-action, we stopped to eat at the Antique Sandwich Company [3], a restaurant I found through Tacomamama.com [4], a "locally grown" family blog. The dark-wood Sandwich Company was a fab stop:a stage piled high with toddler-friendly Legos and Fisher-Price Little People, my sandwich piled high with fresh sprouts and avocado.
The place has a super-crunchy vibe -- our waitress sported dreads and Birks, and fair-trade musical instruments and gifts lined the walls -- but lacked pretension and condescension. No raised eyebrows if you order the roast beef on rye.
The prices were good, too. The four of us ordered a salad, two whole sandwiches with chips, one enchilada-style burrito, a cookie and a cloudlike huckleberry cheesecake for about $30.
A Tacoma Mama's Picks
I chatted with Jennifer Boutell, the owner of Tacomamama.com. For kid-friendly lunches near the zoo, she has several more recommendations:
Don's Ruston Market [5], which has an old-fashioned counter with a soda fountain, ice cream and oh yeah, sandwiches.
Joeseppi's [6] is "very family-friendly," and offers both sandwiches and a sit-down restaurant atmosphere. Jennifer suggests taking a look at the restaurant's kid's menu.
Pho Linh [7], Jennifer's favorite: "My kids will usually share a bowl of chicken soup (no onions!) and I'll have a big bowl of pho. A huge, healthy meal for under $20, and the owner's children are often there as well as families from the neighborhood. They also serve veggie pho."
So next time you're facing another blah weekend and feel like doing something a little different, try taking a daytrip to a new zoo. I won't tell.
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