Hot Day at the Zoo

Marina and I slept in this morning. And after a leisurely start to the day, we decided to go to the zoo this afternoon. It was a beautiful day but very hot. We found a place to park quickly and went right in.

We started at Predator Ridge where we found four lions resting in the shadows of their exhibit. Right next to that was an African wild dog sleeping right next to the glass. Marina loved looking at it. We walked along and saw the cheetah, kangaroos and water buffalos.

We stopped for lunch at our favorite barbecue place. After she ate, Marina wanted ice cream. She chose the Oreo flavor. Then we headed back through the zoo.

We went through the Asian exhibit because Marina wanted to see the otters. When we arrived at their enclosure they were all sleeping. It was adorable! Across the way was the fishing cat. We rarely see them because they tend to hide, but today it was prowling around. We watched it for a while and it kept eyeing us, but with each pass through the exhibit, it got closer to us. It never came up to the glass as we were hoping.

We next saw two elephants that seemed to be messing around with each other. It was fun to watch them tussle with each other. We headed to the tiger exhibit but none of them were outside, so we went on to see the seals and then the sea lions. One sea lion was barking at something, but what it was we never saw.

By the time we made the full loop around the zoo we were both very hot and ready to get out of the sun. So we went home to cool off.

All About Animals

Since Marina had today off from school, I decided to take the day off. Marina slept late this morning which made her happy since the cats have been waking her up early lately.

After she was up for a little while, we got dressed to go out. We had planned to go to the museum to see their new exhibit, but since the weather was so beautiful, we decided to start at the Zoo.

The Zoo was crowded but we didn’t have any trouble finding a place to park. We walked a bit around the zoo looking at the cheetahs, mountain goats and rhinos before stopping for lunch. We ate at the Asian inspired restaurant near the elephants, the went on to the rest of the Zoo. Marina insisted we see the tigers and we also caught the sea lions swimming around a bit.

After our walk through the Zoo, we went to our original destination, the museum. We immediately went to the new temporary exhibit, Creatures of Light. Marina was a bit nervous going in because it was dark. It turned out to be a really cool exhibit. We were met by a giant firefly. We also saw other glowing insects and sea life. Marina enjoyed a floor display that simulated glowing bacteria in the water. She loved how the lights followed her as she walked through.

After we finished going through the exhibit Marina was ready to go home. It had been a fun day learning about animals.

Spring at the Zoo

We wanted to go to the zoo a few weeks ago, but it was very busy that day, we we changed our plans. Today we anticipated big crowds again, but this time, we left home earlier. It was busy, but at least we were able to find a parking place. Since Marina had been bringing her American Girl doll. McKenna, along so much, she felt it was Julie's turn to join us. Naturally they wore matching dresses.

Marina spent some time looking at the map in the front of the zoo. We picked up a paper copy and Marina pointed out everything she wanted to see. She wanted to see the Tropical Exhibit, so we headed there. Along the way we saw the lions, zebras, hyenas, giraffes and tigers.

The tropical animals were fun to look at. Some of the snakes were pretty active, something you don't see often. Marina also enjoyed looking at the fish and crocodile. We looked in on the sea lions as we headed to lunch. All three of the sea lions were sunning themselves.

After lunch, we started checking out the rest of the zoo. Marina took a seat on a rock and a friendly Canadian goose approached her. I think it was expecting to be fed.

Marina was disappointed that the carousel was being refurbished, but she settled for a ride on the train instead. After our ride, Marina looked on the map and pointed out the lorikeet enclosure. We bought a cup of nectar and Marina went to feed them. She loved it when they drank from her cup.

Next we went into the bird house. In one room we found a bird sitting on the bench and it didn't mind when Marina sat next to it.

After that, we were both really tired and the zoo was even more crowded, so we headed home. But not before getting ice cream!

New at the Zoo

After three attempts, we finally made our first trip to the zoo this summer. Fortunately, Michelle was able to join us. When we arrived, Marina was anxious to see the tigers. On the way to their exhibit, we stopped to see the lions and zebras. Once we arrived at the tigers habitat, we saw two of them sleeping in a corner. We went inside to see if there were more we could look at. While there, we found a baby jaguar and its mother. It was so cute to see them together! From there, we saw the sea lions were very active. We went to the underwater viewing area and saw the sea lions swim past over and over again.

 
Michelle wanted to see the okapi, so we made sure we stopped by their enclosure before heading into the new Asian animals exhibit. It’s been open for nearly two months, but none of us had seen it yet. Marina was immediately drawn to the interactive activities. The centerpiece is the elephants. We saw all four of them – including two who are new to the Zoo! We saw some Gibbons monkeys swinging along their ropes and two sleeping black rhinos as well.

Our next stop was Bird World. The most surprising part of that building was when a mouse came scurrying across the path and nearly bumped into Michelle’s leg!  I was impressed that she didn’t freak out because I probably would have! Marina wanted to ride the carousel, so we headed that direction. She was fortunate to get  one of the two tigers to ride on. They are her favorite animals right now. After her ride, we went through the rest of the zoo fairly quickly. It was a hot day and we were all tired. Michelle wanted to see the kangaroos, so we paid a short visit to them before heading out.

On the way home, we stopped for some ice cream. It was a nice way to wrap up our day.

Take Me to a Zoo ...

Today was unseasonably warm, so Marina and I decided to go to the zoo. Apparently few others had that idea, because it was nearly deserted. But the animals were much more interesting than they are on hot summer days.

We started out looking at the lions. The two males were right by the glass viewing windows. It was so interesting to see the up so close. We were also able to see the African wild dogs and tigers as they lounged near the windows.

We went on to the polar bears. One was very active and even stood up near the window in front of Marina and some other kids. We went inside to view the snakes and fish. Then we watched the sea lions underwater for a while.

We walked through the zoo to get to Bird World. It was almost empty, so the birds were everywhere. One even stood right in front of us, calling to the others.

As the afternoon progressed it got cooler. So we headed home. It had been a really fun day with the animals.

A Day at the Zoo

This was supposed to be the last really hot weekend this summer. Marina and I decided to go to the zoo. When we arrived, she told me she wanted to see fish. So we went to the tropics exhibit where the fish are. She was interested in them, but she spent more time looking at the snakes. Who knew she liked snakes so much? But the tarantula really freaked her out.

We stopped for a snack near the sea lions. We had a nice view of them as they played in the water. It seemed like the four of them were chasing each other. It was fun to watch. The polar bears were in their pools. At the underwater viewing window, one was right in front. But Marina didn’t have much interest.

The zoo had a lot of new babies for us to see. We saw baby giraffes, a seal, mountain goat and a zebra. Marina loved them!

Because of the heat, many of the animals were lethargic, an exception was the brown bears. One of them kept following the other around the exhibit. Every once in a while it would agitate the other.

As usual, Marina took a ride on the carousel. This time she picked the cheetah to ride on - although she was hoping for a leopard!

Just before we left, we saw the lions. Two lionesses and a lion were resting right by the viewing window. Marina was eye to eye with a lioness! (A little disconcerting to a mom, I must say!)