Decadence, Not

When I suggested to the Bear that we visit stingrays at Caribbean Cove on Monday morning – yes, another vacation day tacked on just for kicks – the Bear’s response somehow just didn’t surprise me…

“Can they do math with their fins?”

[I don’t really know why…]

We went to find out.

Croissant sandwiches on a cool morning, on the run.

After washing down our hands and arms up to the elbow, we joined the cement-stone pool and breezy music of the Caribbean, where, for free during the first hour of the day, you can pet these surprisingly pet-able subjects for as long as you want. I wasn’t expecting to be so interested, but brushing a hand over their soft, silky pin-prick backs was surprisingly satisfying, and sort of addicting, as they playfully swam by. They actually seemed to enjoy the experience. Even the bumpy big-mama rays sunk at the bottom, the size of small islands. Only the babies couldn’t be touched. They swirled in their own corner, fenced off from curious fingers, little white triangles splashing in rings together. I think I had more fun than Puck.

We let him pick out something at the gift shop. Mostly because it was a tiny orange hand-crafted limited edition glass starfish with tiny yellow dots, in a circular magnifying box. Which is… kind of awesome. I would have fawned over that thing as a kid.

Next, in the quiet unpopulated morning hour, we escorted Puck in a light mist of rain to big cat country for the first time, all those on-edge beasts. Right as we summited the walk above the lion pit, their hollowed tree trunk cracked right in two. Somewhat stunned at losing their long-time toy, the mangy characters just sort of stood around watching the trunk, as if confused.

Then we got to this zebra-legged giraffe horse called an okabi. I confess I’m not all that marveled by animals, generally speaking, but even I was impressed that this creature managed to remain undiscovered and undocumented through 1901.

I find that, even in places I wouldn’t particularly choose to visit – just given personal preferential preference – it’s still easy to find interesting and creative things. Take the path paralleling the World’s Fair Bird Cage. Someone decided to plant these swirly glass plaques in bright colors on stakes sandwiched between bamboo groves and gardenry plants, describing the marsh and swamp in descriptive language through the words of long-dead authors and poets. For instance…

“To visit the swamp is to travel backwards in time, to become, almost, a witness to creation.”

– Bill Thomas

I like that.

St. Louis is also good at this – pairing opposing elements with each other. To compliment both. Normally I wouldn’t imagine literature and zoo animal ecosystems to agree with each other. But it did there.

Soft pretzels at the Galleria?

See, there’s that kind of shopping I’m talking about. Although I do have to confess, as much as I’m opposed to the general suggestion of shopping in general – under most normal circumstances, I sometimes like to imagine that I’m a billionaire, who happens to be walking through a shopping mall. Only, I wouldn’t buy anything.

Or maybe just one small item.

Very small, and very inexpensive.

Orange Leaf.

Yes, we are a decadent trio sometimes. But we had never tried this before. I admit an agreeable impression. Fourteen available [out of nearly 70] self-serve frozen yogurt flavors displayed at a time, about sixty toppings, 45 cents an ounce. Not bad. I chose pineapple, after also enjoying the red velvet sample. OLeif did a side-by-side of snickerdoodle and butter pecan. And Puck loaded up chocolate brownie with all sorts of fresh berries and candies. They even have funky-shaped heavy duty orange spoons and cool red-orange mixed tiles on the walls of a very clean, if not sparkling, small shop.

I think we’ll visit this place again.

I checked out Korean floor mattresses online while the Bear and Puck took a less-than-worried Crackers to her vet appointment.

After the Bear dolled out two hours answering a full sheet of computer systems questions from our seventy-something year-old neighbor lady, we visited a local store for groceries. When we emerged, a small Bangladesh-esque family with a baby and young child holding a cardboard sign, greeted us. We don’t carry cash often, so a yogurt and half a bunch of bananas substituted. We discussed the issue more on the ride home. So many opinions and methods and convictions.

You do what you’ve got to do.

These are the kinds of days we remember.