Brick or Treat

Saturday, Remi opened my door at 6:30 AM and said it was time to get ready for Brick or Treat at Lego Land. Yes, we were going; no, not that early. Thankfully the rest of the turtles moved slowly, and we arrived there about 10:30. The regular parking lot still had spaces in the first row, reinforcing Mary’s decision not to pay more for the preferred spaces.

I had been there 25 years ago for Patten’s 10th birthday, the year this theme park opened. Our whole California vacation of renting an RV was arranged around his spending his birthday at Lego Land. We’d flown into Reno, spent a week in Lassen National Forest with the rangers on an archaeological project, driven through Camp Pendleton, camped backed up to the ocean at Carlsbad State Park, and investigated tide pools. What we hadn’t planned on was his coming down with chicken pox. A phone call to our pediatrician confirmed my diagnosis. 

We decided to stick to our plans. Just breaking out and probably at his most contagious, Patten wore long sleeves and stayed surrounded by our family group. I didn’t know what else to do. His special trip for his 5th birthday on the Tweetsie Train in North Carolina was interrupted when we got news his Grandmother Basham was very sick in the hospital. Grant needed to be by her side. Another birthday trip gone awry? 

I searched the newspapers afterward to see if we’d created an epidemic of chicken pox in Southern California. I didn’t find any evidence of one. Thank goodness Mary and Spaulding didn’t get sick until after we got back to Fort Lauderdale. All I can figure is that Patten picked up the virus when I took the kids to the doctor before our trip because they all had the sniffles.

This time, we were all healthy, which was good because we spent the whole day and half the night walking through the park. 16,000+ steps of fun. I was disappointed the race car track was closed for remodeling. 

Remi was tall enough to ride the jousting horse, still too short for the spinning teacups. He looked longingly at the swinging Viking boat. Maybe next year.

At 3:00, the candy giveaway opened, with all of us getting handfuls of candy at each stop. The haul was enough to subsidize Mary’s 2 trunk and treats she’s committed to. I decided that gummies, taffy, and the current version of Cracker Jacks don’t thrill me, so I’ve donated all mine to her. Is it a sign of my old age that I have developed some taste in candy?

I was already tired when we started after spending Friday at the zoo. It was monthly Plant Day with a special tour bus, orchid houses open to the public, and experts at the carnivorous plants. We started with the orchids where Bella drew some of the flowers in her zoo journal. I had worn my ghost orchid (Dendrphylax linden) t-shirt. The experts there told me they are growing it successfully. I am pleased. 

After the bus, we hustled over to the carnivorous plants where I grilled the experts about my three plants. I learned my pitcher plant (Nepenthes sp. and a gift from Deb when she moved) needs support, so the roots aren’t damaged by movement. I currently have it leaning against a wooden skewer which I will replace with a better trellis when I get home. It is not a bog plant, so it wants to be in moist medium but not stand in water. The poor thing may now survive. The Venus flytrap will just wait to be repotted after it goes dormant. The drosera needs to be in full sun, a problem because it also doesn’t want to be watered with lake water. I’ll have to think about that.

When we’d arrived at the zoo, I’d ordered free timed tickets to see the newly arrived pandas. We walked over for our 12:30 entry just as the line moved forward. Perfect timing. As we slowly walked the panda trail, Xin Bao and Yun Chuan were front and center. 

After reading a newspaper expose about mistreatment of pandas in the conservation program, I have mixed emotions about this exhibit. But one can only be so big a curmudgeon.