Pet the Animals

Saturday found us not only on a family date, but a group date. Jon, Colleen, and Evelynn Clow joined us for a trip up to Little Farm in Tilden Park. Luckily for the girls, we drove with Charlie and the boys took Evelynn. This way we could have our own "girl-date-time" without the boys. The plan was for me to follow Jon, but the curvy roads of Grizzly Peak were just too much for him. I lost him within seconds. Like Kevin, he couldn't resist putting the car into gear and taking the turns as quickly as he could. Needless to say, I knew where I was going and was able to read the signs. We enjoyed the views and quickly arrived at the overcrowded parking lot. There was no sign of the boys or Evelynn. We waited enjoying our time together and eventually the boys arrived. They claimed they went the scenic route and were waiting for us. Yeah, right.

We headed in with our bags of celery. It was an amazingly sunny day with just a slight breeze. Charlie was off and running. First, to the barn to look at the chicks. They were so soft (blocked by a window) and fluffy. Charlie didn't care about these, but Evelynn and I thought they were adorable. We wandered up the hill to feed the goats, who had already been fed and weren't interested much in what we had to offer. Kevin and Colleen "argued" over the wild turkeys..were they or weren't they. Colleen won and I was thrilled. Colleen is wonderful and calling Kevin out. We headed up to the black sheep. I joked "Where's the Green Sheep?" (one of Charlie's favorite bedtime stories. What interesting looking creatures. An enormous mound of black wool sitting on four black toothpicks (legs). We all laughed about the "smart" sheep who actually came over to eat some celery. It was a hoot to watch the sheep take the celery from Evelynn, to watch Kevin shake that "thang" (the celery to get the attention of the "dumb" sheep) and to watch Charlie just try to figure the whole thing out. I cannot wait until he is just a little older so he can make the sounds. He does make a "haaaa" sound for the goats.

The best part of the day was visiting Curly and her piglets, who were just two days old. They were the cutest things and they were all pink minus the one "black sheep", I mean piglet. Now, Curly on the other hand was a good 500 pounds and Curly, really??? I was expecting to see a 400 pound Harley riding bald with a long gray beard guy, not a pig. And for the record, Curly is a male name. They should have named her Miss Piggy.

After visiting the cows, again very funny creatures up close, we headed to the visitor's center. They were closing, not much to see. The only change we would make is to go earlier in the day, enjoy a picnic, and head for a walk around Jewel Lake. Who knew there was a lake?

We ended the visit to Little Farm with a stop at Inspiration Point to look out over the Bay. It reminded me of our first date, "Sunrise, Sunset". I will always have a place in my heart for the Oakland hills and the "View of the Bay".

This was 100% CHEAP, better said, FREE! I have to say cheap dates with the kid and friends was quite fun. A day filled with smiles and laughter, mostly at the expense of the animals, some at the expense of ourselves, was worth while.