The ZOO!
We took a trip to the zoo this weekend. We spent the night with Chris’ great-aunt and spent Sunday morning viewing the animals. Chris and I had a blast! Colin did, too. Delaney was a bit moody. I don’t know if she was tired or what, but she had her third temper tantrum of the day as we were entering the park. Every little thing set her off, including the fact that THERE ARE NO PEACOCKS AT THE ZOO! Oh, no!
But the weather was perfect, and we broke down and packed up the HUGE double stroller that barely fits in my car! It was nice to have the storage space of the stroller basket and a place for the kids to ride (without hauling them around on our backs) when they started running off here and there. Plus, Delaney isn’t always as keen on walking as I think a three-and-a-half-year-old should be. And honestly, the double stroller wasn’t as annoying and inconvenient as I thought it would be! It’s just SO LARGE, but the zoo’s pathways accommodated it nicely.
On to the fun stuff!
Smooth ride
Not peacocks, but pretty none the less
Say WHAT?!
No way!
Colin would absolutely NOT walk on these air grates in the tropical plant greenhouse. He would FREAK OUT when he saw them and beg to be held. It was quite annoying because there were about 15 of these grates every 30 feet in the greenhouse. We spent our share of time holding up foot traffic for him to negotiate his way around the grates without stepping on them or getting too close.
Otter ride
Colin is terrified of the carousel, so he and Chris found a stationary swan to ride on. Delaney, however, thoroughly enjoys the adventure of riding up and down on plastic animals. Hello roller coasters! Anyhow, the stoppage of the carousel resulted in yet another tantrum. Darn zoo - can’t we just ride all day?
Speedy
Large waterer
Seeing the elephants was a highlight of the zoo visit for the younger crowd. This particular elephant was especially fun to watch because she spent a good 10 minutes playing in the water and tossing it over her back.
Two views
Giraffe love
May 27th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Wow! GREAT pics!!!! We’ll be going to our zoo next week, but it’s really just a glorified walking trail with a few zoo animals thrown in. They have NO elephants!!!!! Elephants are my favorite.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Excellent photos, makes your zoo look so nice. Our nearest zoo is the National Zoo which is, of course, free to get into but was probably designed in the 60s so it is run-down, ragged, and pretty pitiful. There are never cats (lions or tigers) in the wild cat exhibits, the monkeys/orangutans are in big plastic boxes, the one zebra is hard to see, and the only animals that have a decent habitat are the pandas. Someday if we ever leave this area for even a day, I’d love to take my kids to see some animals that don’t look so miserable. FYI…I highly recommend the Phoenix Zoo if you ever charge up your future hybrid and head way out west!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
LUCKY!!! As you can tell from our blog, we didn’t really get to see any of the animals. The highlight of our trip to the zoo was the helicopter. We couldn’t see any of the animals! They were all hiding or sleeping. It looks like you guys had a wonderful trip. Was it crowded last Sunday? Just curious if Monday was the only day the zoo was…well, as zoo! Glad you had fun, sorry Delaney was a little miserable. We should all plan a huge trip to the zoo this Fall!