Elephants in the Family

A few weeks ago I shared a picture of my sister and I standing in front of elephants at the zoo.  That photo got me thinking about this photo of my nephew and niece.

Photo courtesy of Dad

I wasn't present when the picture was taken, but I thought my sister and her kids would like to share their memories of the day.  I forwarded it to the three of them for their thoughts, only to discover that my sister wasn't there either.  My parents had taken the kids on this adventure.

What?!?  My parents never let me ride an elephant.  Well, at least I had that in common with my sister.  Or so I thought.  

My sister has not only had the chance to ride an elephant, she's also ridden a camel, or  a dromedary, or maybe both.  She was rather fuzzy on the details.  In fact, it's possible the elephant was an alcohol-induced hallucination, as she believes she rode it at a bar in Texas. She didn't say if the elephant was pink.

And speaking of pink...

Photo courtesy of my nephew

My nephew sent this photo with the message "Same shoes" on seeing the elephant photo.  I hadn't even noticed that both my niece and nephew were wearing Crocs.

My sister did though.  Her first comment was "Aren't they cute?" 

Her second comment was, "Those orange and pink Crocs were around forever."

At least she mentioned her cute kids before she commented on their footwear.

My niece also focused on the cuteness, "My brother had the cutest effing smile in this picture."

He truly did. When you look at the delight on his face it's no surprise that he recently spent a semester living on a real African lion safari.

Because yes, that's where the picture was taken. I had to consult Mom to find out that the photo was taken at the African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario. They had stopped there as part of a larger grandparent/grandchild road trip that stretched all the way to Niagara Falls.

Mom told me that after a rainy drive through the park, she, my dad, my niece and my nephew took in the bird show and the elephant show. Then they stood in line in the rain so the kids could ride the elephant. Standing in line in the rain? I don't remember my parents having that much patience when my sister and I were kids, but when I look back on the photos of my childhood road trips, I can see my parents had more patience than I remember.

*Note:  I don't get anything for the links above.  They're there for your information.  Hope you find them useful.)