Page 138 of Daddy's Pride

“Once during vet school. We had a break and a group of us came down. It was a blast, but I know today will be better because I get to see it with you.” For all the things I had done and seen in my past, none of that compared to doing those same things with Jamie. He found good in everything and brought so much joy to my life.

“You say the sweetest things, Daddy.” He kissed my cheek then finished getting ready.

“Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses. All present and accounted for so let’s roll.” I double-checked once we were both ready to ensure we had what we would need. The rest we could get at the park, such as water and snacks. No use bringing food or drinks only to have security throw them out at the gate.

The hotel was fairly close to both the zoo and SeaWorld, and it only took about thirty minutes—which by California standards was nothing—to get to the San Diego Zoo. I presented the online tickets to the guest services person, and they gave us each a park map. Jamie tucked his inside his backpack for safe keeping, muttering something about making a scrapbook of our vacation when we got home.

“All right, sweet boy,” I opened the map all the way and cringed. “That is a whole lot of steps.” I pointed out where the sloths were. “And we’re here. Where do you want we want to begin?”

“Mmm, let’s start at the beginning, that way we do a loop.”

“Smart boy. Let’s go.”

We went through the Wildlife Explorers basecamp rather quickly. It was packed with children, so Jamie just ran through the water play area fast while I stood by holding onto his backpack. That was until he saw the axolotl exhibit. After that he made his first stuffie purchase of the trip along with a tube of plastic animals for Henry and Chase. He wasn’t as impressed with the reptile house, but he was ecstatic to see the tortoises. He literally stopped and took pictures of every animal we came across.

“Look, Daddy!” Jamie pointed up. “There’s a ride that goes across the park.”

“Do you want to take it?”

Vehemently, he shook his head. “No, thank you. I do not care for rides. Not that I have been on any, but it scares me to watch them on TV.”

While the one overhead was not the same as what I’m sure he envisioned, I respected his wishes and silently thanked him. I too did not care for those whirly-twirly, make-you-vomit rides.

“Monkeys, Daddy! So many monkeys.”

My boy’s excitement drove me to each exhibit and no matter how tired I was, I would press on, for him. Jamie was the reason we were on this excursion, and I would do anything to ensure he had the best trip of his life. By the time we got through the Lost Forest, we both required a break and food, and this seemed the perfect stop given the numerous food options.

“Hey, Daddy, can I see the map, please?”

I set up his dippy sauces—thankfully they had his favorites—while he mapped out the rest of our day.

“Can we see the polar bears next?”

“Absolutely. Eat up then we will pop into the shop and on to the polar bears.”

So far, expenses had been kept at a minimum but given we’d not been to his favorite stuffie friends’ enclosures yet, I knew things were about to get crazy.

“Daddy, look, polar bears swimming. I didn’t know they could swim.”

“Of course they do, silly boy. They love the cold water and ice.”

Stuffie purchase number two. Once he saw the polar bears, he had to have one. Evidently, so did Henry and Chase. As much as he loved the penguins, I was surprised when he didn’t grab one of those as well. I was pretty sure he had the map memorized by now and knew exactly where we were headed.

“Look, Daddy!”

I had heard that so many times today I gave up looking anywhere he wasn’t already.

“They have a baby George, and you can feed the big ones.” I

got him a handful of the food we could purchase the feed the giraffes, and he giggled when their tongues touched his hand. I got several fantastic shots of my boy smiling wide as he fed them, and I couldn’t wait to print and frame one.

“Have you been texting Henry and Chase all your pictures?”

“Yes, Daddy. They’re just as excited as I am.”

Highly unlikely but I got the gist of it.

“What’s our next stop?”