Tradition and the Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California

Family Traditions... some of them are planned and carefully calculated. Like birthday cakes, family vacations and Christmas Eve. Others happen all on their own and come to be 'expected' by members of the family. Like spaghetti with no utensils on Halloween. (What were we thinking?)

A tradition at our house that just ...happened involves The Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California. We've never been to The Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California... physically. But every one of us has been to the Primate Village of The Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California in our imagination a million times.

And I can tell you why...

Sunday is a special day. Dad is home and takes a part in getting ready for church that day. When the girls were little they liked to have Dad brush their hair while it was wet because while he brushed he told stories. Okay, he told one story but although the story always ended the same, the characters often changed because the victim girl getting her hair brushed got to choose the main character of her story.

To get the full effect of the story it would be best for you to run take a shower and wash your hair first.

Go ahead... I'll wait.

Now that you're back and all squeaky clean, have someone you love brush your wet hair while they tell you the story of:

A Visit to the Primate Village at The Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California
As told by The Cycle Guy Dad

When Olga was in Kindergarten her teacher took their class on a field trip to The Knowland Park Zoo in Oakland California. (here we often hear about the long bus ride going all the way from NW Washington to Oakland California). Their class like all classes zoomed over to the flamingos because they were new at the Zoo (sometimes it's the hippos or maybe even the Tapirs). While admiring the pink beauties they heard some commotion coming from the Primate Village and decided to follow the noise. (There is ALWAYS a commotion in the Primate Village)

When they got there, they saw a gorilla going mad and banging on his chest. He picked up a piece of day old poop and flung it through the air. (I regret to inform you that the consistency and age of said 'poop' varies between tellings). It flew in slow motion flipping and turning and broke into pieces. They watched in stunned silence as one piece hit her friend McKenzie in the chest and the other hit Olga smack dab on the top of the head.

But don't worry, their teacher always carried baby wipes and cleaned them right up.

And they all lived happily ever after.

This, my dear friends, is a true although somewhat embellished rendition of an experience that actually happened to Cycle Guy when he was in Kindergarten in California sometime in 1970. The victim of the landing projectile was a grown woman and we're quite sure she did eventually live happily ever after.

Could it possibly have been the same day that a goat from the petting zoo ate the name tag off of little cycle guys coat and he worried all day that he would get lost?

What kinds of family traditions do you have that didn't come about with any careful planning?