Another Day at the Zoo

Ian and I spent the day at the zoo today. And I’m talking all day. We were originally suppose to go with our mom’s group, but we were the only ones who wanted to go, so we made a day out of it. When we got to the zoo, we hopped on the train and rode it to the back of the zoo. This was Ian’s first train ride and he loved it. At first, he wasn’t sure what to think about everything and he just sat on my lap and watched the scenario. However, as soon as we started moving, he got the biggest grin on his face. I don’t think it left his face the entire time we were on the train and I want to say the trip was a good 5 minutes. There was two girls and their mother sitting in front of us and they kept looking back at Ian because he was being so cute about the train. Every so often, he would start clapping and get the grin would just get bigger. We did manage to snag a picture of the train.

After the train ride, we checked out a few of the animals, but the next big event was feeding the giraffes. Ian was able to give a giraffe two pieces of cracker, however, Ian wanted to check out the taste of it first. Thankfully, I was able to talk him out of it and when we went up to give it to the giraffe, he was a little hesitate at first. However, he overcame that awfully quick and tried to touch the giraffe. That wasn’t allowed, but we did get a copy pictures. They had a zoo photographer taking pictures for people and he was gracious enough to use my camera for our turn. Instead of taking just one, he took a couple, which was really nice of him.

After the giraffes, we went a saw a bunch of animals. The rhinoceros (rhinoceri?) were actually in a photogenic mood today, so I was able to get a couple of good shots. The hippopotamus was being lazy and sitting in his pool of water (he was lucky). The zoo actually has a really good kangaroo exhibit. You’re allowed in the actual exhibit and can walk among the kangaroos. If they are crossing the street, then we have to let them pass, but we were able to get a lot closer to them than any other animal. However, today they weren’t all that active and were slacking off in the shade. Ian was also able to see a buffalo and we made our way back to the polar bear exhibit, but they weren’t in the tunnel this time. We also saw the grizzly bear and black bear, but they were sticking pretty close to the shade as well.

After the bears, it was time for lunch and we went to the food court near the bears. I brought the majority of our lunch with us, however, I did get something a bit more substantial for me since I mainly brought food for Ian. For being in a crowded area, Ian ate really well and afterwards, he went down for a nap effortlessly. That’s right, Ian had his nap at the zoo. We had actually planned for this and I had brought along a sheet to use as a “stroller cover” so Ian wouldn’t get distracted by all the people. He was out within 5-10 minutes and then I went searching for a nice shady spot. For an hour and a half, Ian slept in his stroller while I read a book. When he woke up, we went back to touring the zoo.

At this point, we were near the monkey exhibits, so we went and checked out the snow monkeys as well as the lemurs. Both were a little active and they were all over the place. I usually give Ian a snack after his nap, and today, he had his with the meerkats. They were located near the lemurs and as we went in to see them, they were getting fed to. I have a really cute picture of Ian sitting on a rock next to their exhibit while eating his crackers. After the meerkats, we went scouting for the tiger (who was napping) and then finally made our way over to the chimps and gorillas. The chimps were inside and taking their afternoon naps, but they started to get a little rowdy before we left. The gorillas were soaking up the shade outside and not in any views of the windows. Kinda of sad, but Ian had fun running around the chimp/gorilla house and even got up close with one of the chimps who had decided to kiss the glass for a bit.

By this time, Ian was getting a little stifled, so we made our way to the PlayVenture area where he got to climb and slide to his hearts content (or until we had to leave, which I think happened first). Ian found out that he could do taller ladders than what he’s been doing and that rope ladders are easier. There was one ladder that he was able to get up pretty easily until he made it to the top. The gap between the platform and the last rung was a bit bigger than normal, so I had to help him up there, but he did the rest all on his own. I’m not sure if I’m crazy about this ladder climbing, but Ian is a boy and he’ll be doing it sooner or later.

By this time, we had managed to make it to all the animal exhibits we had missed the first time except for one. Our last stop of the day was with the penguins and they were really active. The zoo has king penguins, macaroni penguins (macaroni, really?), and one other that I can’t remember. They weren’t the emperor penguins for sure, but it was something else. All of the penguins kept swimming around and walking in straight lines, it was really fun. I don’t think I’ve seen them walk in straight lines before. Well, not in person at least.

Today ended up being a great day to go to the zoo. The weather wasn’t stifling; it was hot, but the humidity was at a decent level and there was a good breeze going on. It seemed like a lot of the animals were taking a holiday today, but they usually do when it gets warmer out. Ian had a blast going through the zoo and I even let him out of the stroller to walk the exhibits on his own a time or two. He’s still a little young to really appreciate the zoo, but once I got his attention on the animals, he seemed to like watching them for a bit. I did manage to take one video today, so I’ll close out the post with that. It’s a short video of the two of us on the train. We were sitting with our backs to the front of the train, so Ian kept watching behinds us, so he doesn’t turn around too often, but he does give you the huge grin he wore for most of the trip.