Following a Theme Park Trail Along the Eastern Seaboard - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2001 by Wayne M. Barrett

Margaret quickly soothed all the frayed nerves with plenty of hugs and kisses, dried everyone off, and announced that it was time to watch the Rock Around the Block Parade in which Sesame characters such as Big Bird, Elmo, Zoe, The Count, Bert & Ernie, Cookie Monster, Rosita, Prairie Dawn, and Telly Monster ride on floats and dance into the crowd to the strains of 1950s rock `n' roll tunes. This was a big hit, with our three yelling and pointing every time a favorite character passed by. So Dad's water follies were quickly forgotten, and the day ended on a happy note.

When planning this family getaway, Margaret was faced with a problem: Water Country USA and Kings Dominion weren't open until Friday and Saturday, respectively. What to do to fill in the Monday-Tuesday gap between Sesame and our Wednesday-Thursday visit to Busch Gardens? She reasoned that, if we were going to drive all the way down to Virginia, why not find something to do along the way. A look at the atlas indicated that Baltimore would be a perfect stopover venue. With the Baltimore Zoo celebrating its 125th anniversary (it is America's third-oldest zoo), the National Aquarium located in the beautifully renovated seaport area of the city, and our kids totally fascinated by creatures on land and sea, we had the perfect transition from theme park to natural wonders and then back to theme parks again.

We awoke Monday morning to pouring rain. I quickly suggested that we flip-flop our plans, and visit the indoor aquarium today and save the zoo for tomorrow. Margaret promptly nixed the idea, pointing out that the aquarium was a half-day event and we had a five-hour drive to Williamsburg to consider. Besides, she glumly explained, the weather forecasts were for rain up and down the East Coast for the rest of the week. We didn't say it out loud, but the silent looks we exchanged said it all: Our vacation was in danger of being a washout. The kids, though, buoyed our spirits. The rain meant nothing to them--after all, they had their jackets and umbrellas--so let's go.

We had opted out of a summer vacation to avoid crowds, but when you visit a zoo, aquarium, or the like during a weekday when school is in session, there's always the danger of field trips. Despite the inclement weather, the zoo was overran with seemingly thousands of kids. Compounding the problem was they were all headed to a common destination, the Children's Zoo. Crowds of youngsters didn't deter our brood, however. They loved jumping on the oversized lily pads, climbing in and out of the spinning turtle shells, whizzing down the giant (real) tree slide, and riding the carousel. In the Farmyard, there was the usual assortment of horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. Moreover, we were treated to the sight of a hatching egg, as a tiny chick slowly pecked his way out of his shell. It was like watching one of those nature programs on TV, only now it was live.

Still, I sensed our crew was anticipating bigger game, and they'd certainly get that in the coming afternoon. After lunch, the rain slowed to a drizzle; the schoolkids all disappeared; and the real fun began as we explored the rest of this beautifully landscaped enclave for wildlife.