He was SO excited to see a real one with 'really big rocks'! He ran into our room this morning and said, "C'mon mama! We're going to go in a cave today!" I tried to get him to look at me so I could take a picture of him going into the entrace, but he just desperately wanted to get in.
One of the rules is that you aren't supposed to touch anything except this one touching stone. He did so well, only pointing at stuff and never touching. I didn't even have to remind him.
I think seeing the real deal helped to cement in his mind the difference between stalagmites and stalactites and before we went in, we got to see some soda straws up close at one of the exhibits.
You may notice his finger's in his mouth in a lot of these; I'm pretty sure he's cutting molars...not that he ever lets you look in his mouth.
We tried to hang near the back of the small group we were with. There was a dad with his two boys (9-12?) and they and Colin enjoyed taking their time and looking at things. There was also another 2 year old on the tour; she and Colin both did really well.
Colin was actually a little frustrated at the lights. I was afraid he wouldn't like how dark it was, but he actually wanted it to be darker. LOL! Afterward he was talking to the tour guide about somethings and she suggested we take the Illuminated Tour sometime where the only lights are your lanterns. I may try to fit in another trip up here for that one before we leave - I really think it would be worth it for him to get that experience, but I really was afraid to sign up for it until I saw how well he did in the regular tour!
My impressive little boy actually walked the whole time we were in the cave - nearly 1 1/2 hours! I only lifted him up to see specific things that he was too short to see over the edge of. I was SO stunned! I figured I'd end up carrying him through at least part of it, but every time I asked he said, "no mama, I can do it."
Here we are at the very end. The older of the boys we'd been walking with took our picture for us - they were so nice and really seemed to enjoy pointing things out to Colin.
After a yummy lunch, we went to go check out the sluice and some of the rocks. I let Colin pick out one rock from the gift shop and he chose some jasper. I tried to talk him into others, but he was set on the jasper. I chose a piece of sandstone, thinking that would make a good contrast to his.
We also found a great lightening bug book in a series we've been reading lately, "Rookie Read-About" Science. I have to say, I'm totally enamoured of these books. They are absolutely great for Colin! When I saw they had this one, I decided he needed it to take up to Grandpa and Nana's next month where he will be able to catch some (apparently they saw them, but they weren't numerous enough to catch when he stayed with them a few weeks ago).
And the poor tired boy totally crashed out on our way home after an exhausting morning and big lunch!
***And yes, I just noticed that he has on the same shirt as the post below; apparently I like this one and do laundry far too often. :)
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