a rainy reptilia kind of day.

months ago on groupon, a half-off admission deal for reptilia caught my eye and my credit card number. originally i had bought two passes - and it worked out that kids three and under are admitted free - which meant marcus got one awesome trip with his dad, and most recently, an awesome trip with me.

i checked the weather for this weekend. good chance of rain off and on the whole way through.

hmph.

that's not exactly a pumpkin patchable forecast.

so i dug out the groupon and checked out the website. it worked out that if we headed up to reptilia after nap we could catch the viper rattlesnake live feedings. well that's something every little boy dreams of right?

reptilia was worth so much more than a few dinero in gas and a 7 buck groupon. check this out:

1. no line ups. at all.
2. the exhibits are beautiful. the animals are so close to you that it's equal parts exciting and terrifying. there are so many species of snakes. there are so many crocs. and this wicked fave cousin from the komodo dragon fam reunion. there are frogs. there are turtles. there is a free live show where kids get to learn about and hold the different animals. and of course. there are the live feedings.
3. the live feedings were borderline a bit much for a three year old. the rats that they fed the vipers had their insides, well, outside by the time the snakes started to devour them whole. i stood in the  back, marcus, the smallest, front and centre with wide eyes and his jaw on the ground. the best part was that the feeders came out to explain what we would see. and how it all works in the wild. super cool. but when i saw marcus starting to look a little uneasy, we deaked out early and headed to check out more healthy and not-so-hungry crocs.
4. we also caught the komodo-dragon-esque feeding. now that. was crazy. a full size dragon. a mid-size young man with dead chicks on sticks. and oh man it was lively. the exhibit was big enough to have two doors. the guy was popping in and out, teasing the dragon to make him work for his dinner. which he explained later, was simply to exercise the dragon and help him to feel accomplished when he did catch the chicks. that feeding was super cool and there was no blood - so marcus loved it.
5. the exhibits and the whole facility were very clean. the whole place stunk like an aquarium. but a clean one.
6. the free show in the theatre was wicked. marcus got to pet and hold different animals and loved standing up to ask his questions.
7. we legit walked in on two african tortoises knockin' shells. and they weren't stopping for anybody. it was a live episode of national geographic and that particular exhibit was open with no glass. it was educational. not for marcus. for me. a good lesson on how to get your kid out of the exhibit with the r-rated action and explain it without sounding inappro or laughing all at the same time. clearly we only left after i took a photo and posted it to instagram. and so would you.
8. it was down the street from dad's work. which meant we had chicken ceasar salad, a small cheese pizza, a cup of tokens and a short play with dad for dinner.

reptilia is still on groupon. and i'm picking up a handful of rainy day passes to print and wrap in this kid's christmas morning stocking. because all of that for seven bucks? heck the tortoises alone could have charged double for their part of the show ;)

knock on people.

-kare+m
xo