Groundhog Day

This morning we decided to skip out on our play group. Tyler and I have been battling nasty colds and being in an enclosed space, we didn't want to contaminate anyone there. Charmaine phoned me this morning and asked if we would like to join her and Cameron at the wildlife park. Charmaine took the day off because Cameron wasn't feeling great and she didn't want to contaminate the daycare kids. So we thought getting out into the fresh air would help our boys feel better. The beautiful sun and the warmer temperature was so inviting after a week of cold weather and staying inside. The Two Rivers Wildlife park was holding their annual Groundhog Day celebrations. Their resident groundhog named Tunnel was going to make his annual prediction. Tunnel grew a large crowd of people, including a few groups of school kids who made signs of their own prediction. After a few speeches from some members of government, Tunnel finally made his appearance at 11:22 a.m. Of course, being a beautiful sunny day it was no surprise that Tunnel saw his shadow which meant 6 more weeks of winter was in order for the people of Cape Breton. Most of the school kids were happy with this prediction because it meant more time to play in the snow and most importantly more chances of school being canceled due to snow storms. Soon the hype was over and people made their separate ways, we decided to take full advantage of being out at the park. We headed on over to the wildlife trail and viewed all the animals. It had been quite some time since my last trip to this park in the wintertime. I was so used to coming here in the summer when the animals are escaping the heat by going in their little houses. Today most of them were out so we had a great chance to see them all and take some photos. Our walk through the park worked up an appetite. Luckily the park offers a great canteen where we took a nice break to relax and get warm. Our fun wasn't over then however, soon we were back on our feet and hopped on to enjoy a beautiful wagon ride throughout the park where we enjoyed a different view of some of the wildlife. Unfortunately after the wagon ride it was time to head on home. What a day we had! As always we had a blast with our friends Charmaine and Cameron. We were so glad to take the day and get the boys out. The fresh air really did them good and let them take a break from being inside all day. Every time I come to this park, I always forget the full range of things they have to do here and since winter started, there are even more, including skating and sledding. We definitely have to come back and spend another fun filled day here soon! And since Tunnel predicted another 6 weeks of winter, we have more opportunity to do so.