Monday, November 1, 2010

You did WHAT?!

Yes, I did...ride an African elephant, that is!  I am a HUGE animal lover, so this past weekend when we visited Lynchburg and I found out that there was a zoo close by, I had to visit.  It was a really neat experience and we were able to get up close and personal with lots of the animals.  My son found out how close...one of the llamas spit on him...but only after he had fed him.  (snicker)    We were able to feed and pet lots of animals...adult and baby camels, (one of the baby camels wanted to eat my hair instead of the feed) llamas, donkeys, giraffe, muntjac, deer, etc. and there was one little donkey who I just know wanted to come home with me.

The highlight of my trip; however, was a ride upon the back of a 9,000 pound African elephant.  Her name was Tosha.  She was orphaned in Africa and came to the zoo when she was just a baby.  (a wee 400 pounds)  It was amazing how smart she was and how she followed the directions of her handler...better than lots of children. (mine included sometimes)  Her skin was so thick and tough and that cute "little" trunk...She smelt my shoes (J Crew tortoise flats...hey, the girls got good taste)  and she wanted to smell my husband's face but he wasn't having any part of it. (party-pooper).

And me, being the nerdy accountant that I am, had to figure out the ratio of my weight to hers to determine that me sitting on her back is the equivalent of 1.8 pounds on my back....so she hardly even knew I was there.

3 comments:

  1. How fun, that should be your Christmas card!

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  2. Oh man, I wish I'd thought about that...if so, I would have "forced" my husband and son onto the elephant's back as well! That would have been really cute and orginal!

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