I’ve been on the Pediatric Rehab service for over a year now and we finally had the perfect group of kids for a trip to the Oakland Zoo.  In fact, the last time any group that had gone to the zoo was over 3 years ago so this was indeed the “Perfect Storm” of kids, staff, and weather.  The group photo above is really cute in real life but I’m not allowed to post recognizable photos of the kiddies.

Last Friday, we packed up our outing bags, slathered sunscreen on all their faces, and piled 4 kids all in wheelchairs and 5 adults in the Adventure Van.  Just the week before, we had a big car wash with the same four kids so the van was squeaky clean and ready for the outing.

The weather was perfect and all the kids (and grown-ups) were giddy with excitement.  Lots of the kids propelled their own wheelchairs but there were a few steep hills that really got our hearts pumping.  We headed over to the African savanna area and saw elephants and giraffes right away.  One of my kids is hard of hearing and has been learning all the different signs for the animals.  He brought pictures of the animals and each time he spotted one, he would point to the corresponding picture and we’d all make the sign for that animal.  It was like animal sign language bingo all day long.

The Oakland Zoo is such a great place to visit and I would have loved to stay longer to see everything.  We had to cut out some of the park so that we could take the long-awaited train ride around the secret exhibit filled with emus and wallabies.  By 2:30, we had to get everyone back in the van and head back to the hospital.   Our cheeks were all pink from the sun and we were exhausted but it was such a worthwhile trip when you have the right group of kids.