We have friends. Hooray! (That is not the "wild" part.)
We were invited for an afternoon out with our pup last Sunday to visit Benson's Park. We met up with our friends and their awesome dog-- a Chinese Crested-- and spent about an hour walking around. It was one of the coolest places we've been in New England!
In 1926, John Benson started an animal park. It went through lots of changes over the years becoming a zoo and amusement park until it closed in 1987. It was bought by the state and eventually sold to the town where it's located. In the last three years the town has spent countless hours revamping what was left of Benson's Animal Park. They have restored old buildings that were left standing, including the old Gorilla House and Elephant Barn. They have landscaped and just done a general clean-up of everything on the property.
It. Is. Beautiful!
We had a blast walking around and reading the signs that tell you what used to be there. One of the coolest things was when I found out that one of the African Elephants that lived at Benson's when it closed in 1987, currently resides in a zoo near my hometown. It seemed unbelievable, but sure enough, after tracking through various news articles (here and here), Tina lives in the Montgomery Zoo and actually gave birth to the first elephant calf to be born in the state of Alabama. (That is the wild part.)
I hope to go back and take some photos soon. They also just dedicated a new memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York. It looked great from a distance but was pretty crowded so I didn't get to take a good look.
It is indeed a small, small world.
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