Love the Zoo

I got a screaming deal on four zoo passes + six passes for the train/carousel on Living Social several months ago.  I plum forgot about them until I got an email reminding me to use them.

LaVor's mom came for a visit last weekend (Valentine's Day) and we thought that would be the perfect opportunity to use the passes.

We grabbed some lunch and then headed over to the zoo.  When we pulled up, we saw an outrageous line to get in.  The weather was amazing so who could blame all these people for wanting to spend the day outside?  LaVor dropped me off while he and everyone else went to look for a parking space. While waiting in line, the couple in front of me (older gentleman and young Asian woman) were communicating through Google translate.  Made me appreciate speaking the same language as my significant other.

Anyway, the rest of the group joined me in line,  we waited maybe 5 minutes before an employee came through the line, asking if there were any members, Groupons, or Living Social deals.  Ding ding ding!  He yanked us out of the line and we got to go straight to the gate.  Awesome!

Our first stop was the reptile house, one exhibit The Lime and I didn't see when we first visited the zoo almost two years ago.

Can you spot the alligator-like creature?

Doodlebug was way overdue for a nap but insisted on being held and wanted to look at everything. I put my foot down and placed him back in the stroller, where he zonked out in no time. Outings are so much more pleasant when you aren't dealing with a crabby baby.

The wallabies were lounging like they were watching TV (per The Lime), the giraffes were being fed by people who paid to do so, the zebras were hanging out, and the lemurs were being awfully cute. One, in particular, was sitting in this tub as if it was a hot tub, with its arms stretched out to the sides. Hilarious!

The tiger was sitting with its back right against a window, which drew a huge crowd. I attempted to capture a shot through the bamboo but my camera wouldn't focus correctly.

We were a little bummed that there were no elephants but the zoo isn't very big. We did see some lion cubs, which were so stinkin' cute! But again, a huge crowd gathered round to see them and I couldn't get a good picture. Trust me, though, they were darling.

Before we headed back home, the boys got to enjoy a ride on the carousel (Doodlebug's first time!). He wasn't so sure of it at first but ended up relaxing enough to enjoy the two minute ride.

That was quite possibly the best $29 bucks I ever spent. Well worth it for such a fun time.