Where the Wild Things Are
Nice Fishy: Blacktip reef shark (Photodisc)
My older daughter's first word wasn't Mama or Dada. It was Gus. Gus was our cat. Never mind my bruised feelings; there's a profound connection between kids and animals. I'm not just talking little kids; I'm talking teenagers, too. All three of my children put swimming with dolphins in their top ten favorite vacation experiences. They've also held alligators, parrots, and (really big) snakes (not in my top ten); they've met memorable goats, burros, potbelly pigs, and wolves. Kira, who visited Egypt with me when she was eight, still remembers Pepsi Cola the camel but shockingly few historical facts; in Baja, Molly, at six, got close enough to a 40-foot whale to recall vividly that whale breath is really bad, and to yearn to do it again ever since.
We share the planet with many creatures, some four-footed and furry, some finned, some winged. Some are beautiful, some not so much. Without getting preachy, I believe animals have the capacity to teach us something about the universe, about compassion, about ourselves. Even if I'm wrong, that doesn't change the fact that kids and animals are a natural combo, which is why there are so many cool places and programs that bring them together for a can't-miss vacation or activity. Need suggestions?
