I had a great Mother's Day weekend thanks to my Wonderful husband and kids. They really did everything they could to make me happy and we did whatever I wanted! Woo hoo!
I decided it would be fun to go to the Capital of Texas Zoo outside Bastrop. A few weeks ago we had bought tickets on Living Social so it seemed like as good a time as any to use them.
So we got up, got ready (Stu went to the local taco joint (El Taquito) to get us some yummy breakfast tacos) and off we went.
We didn't know a lot about the zoo other than what I had seen on their website. I wasn't expecting a lot. I knew it would be small. I guess I was expecting something like the Austin Zoo which we love. We drove out toward Bastrop and turned on Pope Bend Rd to get to the zoo. Further and further back we twisted and turned (more and more into the middle of nowhere). Again, I wasn't too worried since it's like that getting the to Austin Zoo as well.
At last, we make our last turn down a 1 lane gravel road. (I so wish I'd had the presence of mind to take pics of all this). Stuart and I turn and look an one another... Hmmm... it's a long road. You can't see anything around except fields and a few houses. Finally we get to the "parking lot". I use that term loosely as it looks as though it may hold a maximum of about 20 cars and there are currently 4 parked there. In front of the parking lot is a small building. It has a large sign on the door that reads, "Welcome! Honk and come on in!"
We walk in to a small, dingy little room with a make-shift office on one side and a bunch of aquariums on the other side. All of them were filled with reptiles of one sort or another. A rattle snake on the bottom row was shaking it's tail at us relentlessly. And there were no people there. OK, I guess that's why we needed to honk. We wait a few minutes and no one comes. So I go out and honk again. By this time another family had arrived. They come in as well. Now there are 10 of us in the small, dim room. Again, no one comes to the office. So we give it one last long honk. Just as we're about to give up and just go in, the owner and another man show up to let us in.
Once they arrive we are told that we will still need to pay the sales tax on the tickets we bought on Living Social. OK, no problem. Also we are offered some food to feed the animals (but could we please return the cups so they can reuse them when we are finished. Also would we mind donating our change to their new habitat they are building. In other words every penny counts at this place where basically this guy is taking care of all these animals and trying to do it on very little income.
The peacocks here have run of the place. I thought this white one was really cool.
Lovely, but very loud creatures. From what Erica was telling me, apparently it's mating season.
A capybara.
The Zoo Man was also really proud of his guinea pigs. When he let us in he was sure to tell us that he had the largest guinea pig enclosure of any zoo in the country. It was quite amazing to see all these little guinea pigs running around. The peacock was in the enclosure when we first went by. He was doing quite a little dance with all his tail feathers out. He was really shaking and making a terrible racket. It was cool.
You could even reach down and touch them. I'm not sure if we were supposed to though.
As you can see from these pics there were also some goats running around. There's a small "petting zoo" area with goats and a donkey. You don't go inside it, but you can feed these very enthusiastic creatures through the fence and a couple had apparently escaped.
There was also a Camel,
And some absolutely adorable pot-bellied piglets!!
There were lots more animals including a lion, white tiger, monkeys, lemurs, bats, prarie dogs, and more I can't even think of!
I hope my telling of this tale hasn't scared anyone off because it's a lovely little zoo with lots of animals. It was just a very strange experience getting there and getting in! You should all go visit the Capital of Texas Zoo!!!
Afterwards on the way home we stopped at
Berdoll's Pecan Farm. I had been driving by this place literally for almost 20 years and had never stopped. I decided Mother's Day would be a great time to ask to go. So we stopped and discovered it's a great little place. I got some peach preserves and some old-fashioned dried sausage! Fantastic!!
Finally we end the day at one of our new favorite places. The
Good Luck Grill in Manor. I know that sounds far away, but it's really not. And the food is fantastic and reasonably priced. They have counter service too so there's no tip! Highly recommend if you're ever in the area.
It was a great Mother's Day!!
