Homeward Bound

Will got to bed insanely late last night since I was dealing with the co-op order, so I let him sleep as late as he needed this morning. Well, by the time the child finally awoke, he felt infinitely better than yesterday, but I was famished! He showered quickly and we headed to Bob Evans, his new favorite restaurant. :)

We purchased a card game at the zoo yesterday called, "rats", which apparently resembles ERS (not that I would know) and we played it while waiting for our breakfast while I finally enjoyed a really good cup of coffee. Will won, to the amusement of the older couple beside us. The gentleman asked Will if he had cheated. :)

We did head back to the zoo and had a really good time. We meandered really slowly which was good since there were several rainy downpours. Fortunately, they all occurred while we were in buildings or under shelter. The sun finally came out but the temp had cooled.

We watched a family of monkeys interacting. They were so cool. There was a 7 month old monkey, his older sibling, and the parents...They were totally astounding to watch...their communication, the way the little one challenged his boundaries, they way he grabbed hold of his mom as she swung by him. They were fascinating.

We also saw hippos (They have big bodies and little legs!) and a training session for the two African elephants. The trainer actually tossed a ball to the 6 yo male elephant; he picked it up and accurately tossed it back...they blew water out of their trunks on demand, flapped their ears, swayed back and forth...it was truly amazing. The head trainer was chatting right behind me and stated that the mother, when younger, would stand on her back legs and slam a frisbee. Very cool. Very smart!

We went to a Toledo favorite for dinner...Tony Packo's. For MASH fans, it was the restaurant the Klinger mentioned 7 times during the run of the show. Several people told me about it, so I thought it would be cool to do something Toledo-like. We were seated in the bar area (the place was hopping!) and had a really gracious server. She chatted with Will and gave us samples of German potato salad because she wasn't sure if we would like it. We tried fried pickles (I did say tried!), had their famous hot dogs (yes, twice I get to shock you!), but the best part was the cabbage roll. It was so good...like my mom used to make and I wish I could replicate. We ordered an apple strudel to go (not as good as if it were warm with ice cream!), but it brought back some really good memories.

We headed back to the hotel for a run (yay! Finally!) and a swim, then up to pack and get Will to bed. I am sitting here in the dark so he can get his beauty rest while I update everyone.

We head home tomorrow morning. Marcia and kids will arrive here at 830 for our long trek home.

Thank you for your prayers and for the encouraging comments...