Como, our third adventure.

There is a fabulous deal here that has just made my summer easier. Well kind of.

Yesterday Holly, Sam, and I went to Como Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul. It is a zoo with a fairly decent collection of animals and best of all it is free! They do ask for a donation at the door but won't refuse you if you don't donate. The donation is a screaming deal anyway. $2.00 for adults $1.00 for kids. Can't beat a $4.00 outing.

So I always have something to fall back on when the kids and I are bored. The only problem is getting there and back. St. Paul is not that far away but the freeway system here is challenging and my sense of direction is non-existent.

Yesterday I set off with a vague sense of how to get there. We got on the freeway and headed to St. Paul but there was not an exit for St. Paul specifically. I had to back track and then head through Minneapolis. I got on the right freeway in Minneapolis. I even got off at the correct exit but that is where my vague sense of how to get there ended. I was hoping for signs that pointed the direction but after the freeway exit there was not any indication of Como's existence.

I looked up the directions before I left but could only remember a few instructions. I remembered it said something about turning left at the first street. I did that and drove around for a while until I was satisfied that Como was not there. So I decided to try again except turn right. I didn't check out the street I was turning on though and turned onto an off ramp going the wrong way. Several Minnesota drivers hate Utah now.

Finally I decided not to turn. About an hour after we started I found Como.

We saw all of the animals. My favorite was the butterfly house. It puts Hogle zoo's butterfly house to shame. This one is packed full of butterfly's. They ask you not to touch them before you go in but the butterflies can touch you and they do. Holly and Sam loved it.

Holly loved everything of course but her favorite animal is the Zebra. I think Sammy liked the Sea Lions the most.

So we come to the end. It was 2:30 and Rob needed to be picked up from work at 3:00. I headed for the car with the kids. Sammy decided he wanted to go potty RIGHT NOW! The only problem is he isn't potty trained nor does he really want to be. I have taken him to the potty before all excited that he wants to start potty training on his own ( a golden contact)and he will not even get on the seat. So we were running late but Sammy insisted that I take him to the potty. I didn't take him but he spent the next 30 minutes screaming and walking as slow as possible. In all fairness to my little guy he was so tired. When we finally got to the car it was 3:00.

Rob called and I explained that we were still in St. Paul. But that wasn't the end I got on the freeway assuming that I could take the way back that I came. I assumed wrong. Rob called about a half an hour later. I had to tell him that I was completely lost and headed for St. Cloud. Knowing that might have helped if I had any idea where St. Cloud was in relation to anything else. Rob got online and gave me directions. An hour after leaving the zoo I picked Rob up from work. Rob said that my route was the equivalent of going from Provo to Heber by driving through Salt Lake. He threatened to never let me drive in Minnesota again. I said that by the end of the summer I will know how to get to every town here. Rob said "yeah but will you know how to get back?" Smart Aleck.

I think next time I will take a map.