This weekend I went to the LA County Fair...and they have elephant rides this year! One of my oddities is that I LOVE elephants! I think that they are absolutely amazing creatures! They're so huge that it is somehow amazing that they are so quick...they're smart and you can teach them to kick a soccer ball (apparently).
Several years back, I fully acknowledged my elephant affinity, and I decided that when I went to the fair, I would ride an elephant...imagine my dejection when the LA Fair (and every other fair in the area) stopped giving elephant rides. But they are back now, and they were brought to the LA Fair through an organization called Have Trunk Will Travel. This organization supports elephant conservation and also ensures that their elephants spend only 1/3 of their time giving rides to people. The rest of the time, they are doing elephant stuff.
So, I finally got my ride with an elephant named Becky. They're pretty amazing; you can just imagine the amount of power in the legs underneath you. I'm sure that I sounded kind of funny to the rest of the people, but I kept thanking Becky for the ride. I think that she deserved some appreciation. I'm sure not everyone says thank you.
A day later, I still have a ridiculous grin on my face because I finally got to touch a real elephant...and I keep sneaking peeks of my souvenir picture.
If you want to see pictures of Becky and the rest of her elephant friends check out www.havetrunkwilltravel.com
