Last week, Gretchen purchased a yearly membership to the Minnesota Zoo. I have lived here since 1992 (approaching 17 years) and had never been to the zoo - and neither had Lars, Brita, Auntalie or Tobias.

When Gretchen left town for the weekend to go to our nephew’s baptism, she suggested that I take everyone there. Off we went.

The weather could not have been more perfect. It was warm and sunny, but not hot. I saw an animal I had never seen or heard of before (a Takin). I also saw a live moose for the first time since I was 6 or 7. Lars, Brita, Leif and I all fed a giraffe by hand, which was an incredible experience. We pet the goats at the zoo-farm and we all rode the monorail.

Right before we left, Lars went down to the lake to see if he could see the trumpeter swans swimming somewhere. To his surprise, they were resting right on the shore where he was standing. This is probably the closest any of us will ever be to these swans.

We had quite a day.