A Bug Goes to the Zoo

(simultaneously posted on A Mousecacher in Disney's World)

Just three weeks after FINALLY having custom orthotics made, I decided to give them a true road test.  On October 15, Bug and Peanut brought their parents down for a trip to Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium.  They picked me up early in the morning, and we made the trek to Grant Park, home of the zoo.  It was their first visit.  It was my first visit since 1991.  I don't know who was more excited.  They were all excited about seeing the animals, I was excited to watch Bug as he saw the animals.

As we're walking through the entrance, the conversation went something like this:
Me: "Bug, what animal do you want to see today?"
Bug: "Giraffelephant."  Yes, that is one word.
Me, laughing: "The giraffelephant, huh?  Well, what about brother?  What animal does he want to see?"
You must remember that Peanut, at this point, is only 9 months old, and doesn't really grasp what animals are.
Bug: "He wants to see the pig."  Matter-of-fact.  Peanut wants to see the pig.  I love this kid!

One of the first exhibits had just what Bug wanted.  A giraffelephant.  Or, maybe it was an area that had BOTH a giraffe AND and an elephant together.  Either way, he was happy!  I think he would have stayed there all day long, if only we'd let him.

Along the way, there were gorillas, lions, tigers, pandas, snakes (Bug wasn't impressed with those), a naked mole rat (I don't know if he liked Rufus, but he sure liked the tunnel going in and out of the exhibit), birds, flamingos, gators, and a petting zoo.

There was also Dippin' Dots.

Peanut wanted ice cream, too, but we made him stick to banana puffs.

Later on, Bug convinved me to pose for a picture.

We ended the visit with a ride on the train and the carousel (Bug wanted nothing to do with them until we were on them, then did not want to get off.  Peanut liked them from far away, but was not so keen on the actual experience.  What can you do?), and then headed back to the parking lot for a well-deserved picnic.  After filling our bellies and resting our feet, we drove about 3 miles to another parking lot, and prepared to enter the Georgia Aquarium.

This was, as with the zoo, their first visit.  I, however, am an annual passholder.  Having experienced the aquarium before, I was able to concentrate what they wanted to see.  It is so much fun to see something through the eyes of a two-year-old!  Much like at the zoo (look, Bug, it's Timon and Pumba!  Look, Bug, it's Simba!), several animals were identified by their proper Disney name.


Dory!

Much like at the zoo, Bug did not want to pet the animals.

Much like at the zoo, Bug somehow convinced me to pose for a picture.

Bug surprised us all by his reaction to the shark tunnel.  Being scared of everything else, we fully expected him to be terrified of a tunnel surrounded by sharks and other somewhat frightening marine life.  Not the case, at all.  I do believe that his favorite part of the aquarium was the tunnel.  We had to end the visit by going through the tunnel one last time.  All the way home, Bug kept pointing out tunnels (underpasses, parking garages, anything that resembled a tunnel).

It was days later that I realized: There are almost no pictures of Bug and Peanut with their parents!  There really were two other adults on this trip!  I promise, there were!!!  I guess I monopolized the kids.  Oh well, consider it preparation for a trip to Disney.  Bug's first trip to Disney World is in the planning stages!

And just in case it's slipped your notice, I am so completely in love with this kid!

Day 4 - Who was your least favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor?

Actor:
No thought required.  The red-headed kid from The Adventures of Pete & Pete.  I loved him as Jackie Rodowsky on The Babysitter's Club, but he annoyed me on Nickelodeon.

I also never like the guys from Kenan & Kel, although Kenan Thompson was hilarious in the Mighty Ducks trilogy.

Actress:
Truthfully?  I can't come up with an actress that I absolutely didn't like.  Boring answer, I know, but even after doing some research, I just don't have any that I disliked.  Sure, I liked some better than others, but I never really disliked any of them.

Day 3 - Who was your favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?

Actor:
Of the shows I watched, David Lascher was my favorite actor.  Even better than his TV show appearances was his portrayal of Robert March in White Squall.  GREAT MOVIE!

There were three other actors on Nickelodeon that I liked even more, and still follow to this day.  Christopher Ralph (In A Heartbeat, Skulls II, Our Hero, Instant Star), Shawn Ashmore (In A Heartbeat, Any Mother's Son, Legends of Earthsea, Terry, X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand), and Paulo Costanzo (Josie & The Pussycats, Royal Pains) were regulars or recurring guest on the popular children's show Animorphs.  I never really watched the show (though I often bought the books for Kyle), but every once in awhile, I would turn it on just to see what was happening with these three actors.  They've all gone on to have pretty lucrative careers, especially Shawn Ashmore (as well as his twin brother, Aaron).

Actress:
Of the shows I watched, Christine Taylor would have to be my favorite.  And even better than his performance on Hey, Dude, would be her movie career.  She played a great Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie!

But once again, there were two other actresses that I liked much, much more, even though I either rarely or never watched their Nickelodeon show.  Melissa Joan Hart (Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare, Two Came Back with the late Jonathan Brandis, Drive Me Crazy), Larisa Oleynik (The Baby-Sitter's Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, A Time for Danicing, Hawaii 5-0) and Amanda Bynes (What a Girl Wants, She's the Man, Hairspray, Sydney White, Easy A) have been two of the funniest actresses I've ever watched.  They have an understanding of comedy that makes their roles enjoyable, unlike so many other "comedic" actors and actresses today, who simply look stupid.

Day 2 - What was your least favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?

I had to do some research for this one.  Simply put, if I didn't like the show, I didn't watch it, and therefore, I don't remember it.

I did NOT like:
CatDog
Kenan & Kel
Salute Your Shorts
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
Hey Arnold!

But the worst show of them all was most definitely Ren & Stimpy.  That show was so bad, I actually can't believe that I didn't immediately think of it.  I actively despised that show!

Day 1 - What was your favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?

And so, let's begin.
My favorite show on Nickelodeon during the 1990s.

As a kid, I loved Pinwheel.  Little known fact: the original name for the channel was Pinwheel.  Pinwheel was a great combination of animation, live-action, and puppets.  I just loved the show!  My favorite parts were Plus and Minus (and their endless game of "Gotcha Last."), Ebeneezer T. Squint, Picture Pages with Bill Cosby, Curious George, and Paddington Bear.  Pinwheel last aired in 1990.

At times, I enjoyed The Secret World of Alex Mack and Clarissa Explains It All, as well as Hey Dude!.  I tried watching a Hey Dude! rerun a few weeks ago, and I have no idea how I ever liked that show.  I think it had something to do with David Lascher.

But my favorite show had to have been The Rugrats.  I was doing childcare during the last half of the 1990s, and not only was The Rugrats popular with my charges, I just adored it.  That show really gave insite into the workings of the infant and toddler minds.  And it made sense.  I think anyone with children should watch this show!

A special shout out to some of the other decades of  Nickelodeon (to include Nick Junior and TheN/TeenNick):
80s - Adventures of the Little Koala, Inspector Gadget, Danger Mouse, Mr. Wizard's World, The Littles, The Care Bears
00s - Spongebob Squarepants, Beyond the Break, Instant Star, Radio Free Roscoe, Whistler, Degrassi

10-day 90s Disney/Nickelodeon Blog Challenge

Now, here we have a blog challenge that is right up my alley.

The 10-day 90s Disney/Nickelodeon Blog Challenge

Day 1 - What was your favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?
Day 2 - What was your least favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?
Day 3 - Who was your favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?
Day 4 - Who was your least favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?
Day 5 - What was your favorite 90s Disney Channel show?
Day 6 - Who was your least favorite 90s Disney Channel show?
Day 7 - Who was your favorite 90s Disney Channel actor/actress?
Day 8 - Who was your least favorite 90s Disney Channel actor/actress?
Day 9 - Should they bring back shows from the 90s on Disney Channel like they have for Nickelodeon?
Day 10 - Anything you want about 90s Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel.

7-paragraph Twitter challenge

I'm not good at coming up with blog topics.  I try.  I frequently don't succeed.  That is why I love blog challenges.  They provide me with subjects to talk about, which I really enjoy.  I recently searched for some challenges, and found a bevy of topics to talk about.  Some are short (less than a week) and some are long (a month or more).  I think they will provide me with a nice selection of things to talk about in 2012.

And so begins the first blog challenge of 2012:
The 7-day Twitter challenge

Let me start by saying this:
This will not last 7 days.  This one will probably be the shortest, at 7 paragraphs.  I like the questions, but I just can't make them each last one full blog post.  Sooo.....

What is your Twitter username?
@eldabee

How many people follow your blog?
62 - I'm not very active on Twitter, so I'm not a known entity.  However, some of my coolest followers are:
@MagicalTrash - all about the trash cans at the Disney parks.  Trust me, Steve is great!
@leavenotrace - conservation education nonprofit
@AnthemLights_ST - official Street Team of Anthem Lights, Christian praise band (I love you, Chad!!!)
@JMCousteau - Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques

How many people do you follow?
321 - I could follow even more, but I try to be selective.  I follow these people for a reason.  I want to be able to read their tweets, and still have time to get things done.  Some of the people I follow are:
@ChadMGraham - singer, member of Anthem Lights, and from Ft Myers, FL (I love you, Chad!!!)
@harwichmariners - Cape Cod Baseball League team
@EricSkoglund25 - my cousin, pitcher for the UCF Knights baseball team, drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 draft, and pitcher on the 2012 Harwich Mariners summer team
@WylandORG - the Wyland Foundation
@FCousteau - Fabian Cousteau, grandson of Jacques
@starbucks - no explanation needed (says the person with the venti toffee nut latte sitting on her desk)
@aaronspod - Aaron Wallace, host of the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Pod Unofficial Disney Podcast (including the best Top 100 Disney Songs broadcast ever!)

Who is your favorite person to follow?
@loumongello - Lou Mongello, host of the WDW Radio Show, Disney tour guide, Disney trivia master, member of the WDW Radio running team (me, too!).  Check him out at http://www.loumongello.com/ or http://www.wdwradio.com/, or listen to the WDW Radio Show on iTunes.  Specifically, listen to the 12/25/2011 podcast, where Lou reads an email from.....ME!!!!!

Who has the funniest tweets?
@tattoed_dad - fellow Disney lover, UGA employee and musician Christopher Taylor.  He interviewed me for his Disney blog in 2010, and his tweets can be priceless (especially when I know he's talking about UGA).

What kinds of people do you follow?
LOTS of official and unofficial Disney people, various ocean and wildlife conservation organizations, pro and NCAA sports teams, CNN, NASA, and other equally geeky people.  I don't follow very many actors/actresses, singers or professional athletes.  There are a few, but I have my limits. 

Anything you want about Twitter:
I've gotten logs of laughs over my public bio:
"Disney freak, geocacher, aspiring photographer, scuba diver, trumpet player, basketball lover, minister's daughter, with some OCD thrown in for good measure."
I think it's pretty accurate. :-P