Sneeziest outing ever

[TooShy]

OK, here goes. An epic obs from last spring that I'm just now getting around to reporting.

My husband, daughter and I met his sister and her family as well as my in-laws at the zoo last May to celebrate my nephew's birthday. As soon as we got inside, I noticed the ground was covered with some sort of fluffy brown-ish flora, the likes of which I had never seen. One look, however, and I just knew this stuff exuded allergens.

I can't exactly remember the order of things, but in the few hours we were there, every single member of my group sneezed, not to mention just about every other person at the zoo. I had never, ever in my life seen anyting like it.

Some highlights:

I'll start with my sister-in-law, who, while not the most generally pleasing person, has a sneeze that would drive most fetishists wild. She's tall and slightly heavy with somewhat pretty face and a small, pointed nose. She does have bad allergies for which she gets weekly shots. Her sneezing fits usually begin with lots of sniffling and nose wiggling, and then "HI -- (big pause) -- CHOOOO!," with the "hi" part being slightly high-pitched and the "choo" part very full-bodied. She sneezed in groups of three and four throughout the afternoon. FYI, she tends to fan her hands in front of her face to "get the sneezes out," which I personally don't like but I know many do.

Her husband, not a generally sneezy person, also sneezed in groups of five or six throughout the afternoon. I cannot remember the sound, but it was kinda exciting to watch, since it's so infrequent.

My mother-in-law has a very quiet sneeze that sounds kind of like "itchsh" but slightly cough-like. She sneezes in groups of three or four, and did so several times while we were there.

My father-in-law's sneeze is not particularly pleasing to me, as it's rather loud and exclamatory, if that makes sense.

My husband, like his sister, has pretty constant allergies, and he sneezed all day. To be honest, I cannot stand the sound of his sneezing (I know, sucky for me) -- and having to listen to it in the presence of my in-laws was all the worse. If I had to describe the sound, it'd be something like "hub-schoooooo." Something about the "b" sound at the beginning irks me.

As for other zoo-goers, I remember a guy, mid-20s, Pacific Islander or something, sneezing convulsively about 12-15 times. They were mostly stifled and very strong. Hard to spell; maybe "HBPPPPKNXT." He almost jumped up and down as he sneezed.

I remember a black woman, early 40s, sneezing powerfully over and over again as she exited the snake habitat area. "HRRRRRARRRRSH" or something like that. It was an odd sound.

And I remember a teenage Asian girl, long hair, long legs, sneezing over and over again in the picnic area. "Ha-ECH! Ha-ECH! Ha-ECH! Ha-ECH!" I ever saw her again later in the day in another part of the zoo and she was STILL sneezing.

The sneezing was so prevalent that day, even the damn animals were sneezing. I kid you not!

Oh, you're wondering about yours truly? Well, I have perhaps the most profound mental block ever. I sneeze in front of no one except my husband and daughter. No one. Needless to say, it was really, really hard for me. My nose was on fire all day, and I had way too many close calls. At one point, however, I could hardly take it any more. I was pushing my daughter in her stroller, with my in-laws walking several paces ahead and the rest of the group far behind. I literally could not take it anymore and allowed myself to sneeze one time into my shoulder. I was relatively quiet about it -- "ehshoo," but still. This was huge for me.

Suffice it so say I have never, ever witnessed such a collection of sneezing in one place.

[atchoum]

What a wonderful day ! And thank you especially for describing the sneezes even when they are not particularly attractive to you. Some of them were really attractive to me. And what luck seeing some one who seldoms sneezes doing fives and sixes all afternoon!

[NoV]

Sometimes the stars align and you are treated to several sneezes at once I know I have gone thorugh 'sneeze droughts' of several days or so and then have had one day when I have seen four or five great obs - don't you just love those days??

[Hankysneeze]

_{Anyone fancy a trip to that zoo? Thanks for sharing}

[Pearlised]

Oh wow. That's quite a story!! Well done for your minor achievement with the mental block! And lucky lucky you, right place, right time. I'm so jealous!!