Hope's Day

Hope’s day was very different from Caroline’s. Hope is an active kiddo and likes to be on the go…a lot. Originally, the idea to spend a day with each girl came from Hope. When she found out we couldn’t go to the farm for Spring Break, she was upset. Next to being at the farm, her favorite thing to do is to drive around Aubrey ( a town of 1500 which is a little north of us) and look at the horses and houses—in that order. So, she asked if we could drive to Aubrey, which was met by loud “BOOs!!!” from Caroline (who gets carsick when we are in the car for more than an hour). That’s what gave me the idea to let each girl stay with Mimi for a day and I would do something fun with the other.

A friend told me about Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch in Pilot Point (just north of Aubrey). After looking them up online (www.sharkarosa.com), I told Hope about it and she was all-over going to see a bunch of endangered animals (especially when she heard there were monkeys).

So, I met Mimi this morning and switched girls with her and Hope and I headed north to Sharkarosa. Thankfully, I had printed out some info on the place, because Hope was asking a thousand questions and was giddy with excitement. Although it was her fun day, I made her listen to country music—there’s only so much I can take in one day.

We arrived at the ranch around noon and spent the next 4 hours in “Hope Heaven.” There were monkeys, camels, horses, zebras, bears, porcupines, kangaroos, dogs and many other animals that I can’t recall right now. I don’t think she stopped smiling all day.

We rode a tram that took us into animal pens (one of which was a bit reminiscent of Jurassic Park). There were buckets of food on the sides of the trams, so the animals came up close. We were allowed to pet most of them. We rode the tram twice—just so Hope could touch more animals. The driver of the tram was actually the owner of the ranch and such a down-to-earth, nice guy. When the bucket right outside our seat was almost empty, he came around and refilled it.

Hope had a great time. She took LOTS of pictures. I’m still not sure which part was her favorite: petting a baby kangaroo, seeing a bear, having an alpaca try to eat her hair, or buying a bear-claw necklace. I guess it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that, toward the end of our time at the ranch, she exclaimed, “This is the best spring break ever!” Music to my ears.