Johnson City Texas is one of those towns that if you blink, you miss it. But it also has so much history because it was the home of President Lyndon B Johnson's Ranch. Back in March, John and I visited Johnson City for the first time, just something to do over spring break. We found a little shop famous for their jerky, a cafe called The Silver K that turned out to be quite delicious, we visited Lyndon B Johnson's Ranch house, but also on this journey of ours, we found the Johnson City Exotic Zoo. Of course, John is allergic to just about everything that breathes, so he did not really want to go on a bus for an hour that was infested with animal hair and saliva, can't say that I blame him. I only have 2 dogs and he gets itchy and sniffles, not to mention what would happen if he was surrounded by over 150 different species. Who knows, maybe someday I will get him to go.
After I came home raving about this place to my family, my mom decided it would be fun to take my grandparents there on their visit here. The idea struck her fancy and she made up her mind.
We took the back road, which turned out to be 1) a beautiful route and 2) way quicker than 35 to 290. Once we got there, I was surprised that the tour was only $11 a person and a huge bucket of feed was only $6.
We all got onto this bus looking thing connected to a tractor, and as soon as the gate opened, the animals came flooding to the bus. They just walked right up to you and started eating. My favorite was the buffalo. I had no idea how sweet those animals are, even though it is quite disturbing to feed them. They stick their heads up and stretch out this long blue tongue and wiggle it around at you until you drop food in their mouth.
The llamas were a little irritating and word for the wise, if they throw their ears back, RUN.
My dad was right in the middle of feeding one, and this hideous llama just spits right on my dad. First off, their "spit" isn't actually spit. It is mucous from their stomach, and let me tell you, IT STINKS. My dad was disgusted and even mentioned that it smelled so bad, he'd rather have been sprayed by a skunk. Of course, all of us were laughing because it didn't hit anyone else but him. Oh well, guess that is just his luck. It was still funny, and he won't live that down.
I was also highly amused by a 5 year old camel named Goober. He made the weirdest noises and loved to stick his entire head and neck right into the bus. The tour guide told us to hide our buckets of feed because Goober would snatch them right up.
Needless to say, my grandfather REALLY enjoyed it. But then again, so did everyone else. Personally, I can say it was a good experience for me being that I love animals, but it was also a great way for my family to spend some time together, with a dash of fun.
And lastly, I think my newest fear is of ostriches. This one in particular was about 13 feet tall. His head came over our tour bus. I had no idea how HUGE they were, not to mention they are vicious. I learned that you can tell when they are becoming aggressive by how red their legs turn. Let's just say, I kept my distance, no hesitation.
So if you are trying to plan a fun day trip with your kids or even your whole family, take a day or two out to Johnson City and visit the zoo. I promise you'll enjoy it. Well, if you don't get spit on by a llama.
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