One Musical Mom's Life: It's all happening at the Zoo!

Monday, August 13, 2007

It's all happening at the Zoo!

"I do believe it. I do believe it's true". To quote Simon & Garfunkel, yesterday the Oregon Zoo was the place to be. And what was amazing to me, was the sheer numbers of people, especially since the weather was less than desirable--overcast & slightly drizzly. Oh well, I guess a little rain never stopped Oregonians :-)

And yes, we were heathens, and played hooky from church. But it's not often that we get to go to the zoo with David, so when he suggested it, we jumped on the idea.

We got kind of a late start~~normally if you don't get to the parking lot by 9:15 (zoo opens at 9:30), there's not a parking spot to be found~~and it didn't help that the exit ramp to 1-405 south was closed due to the Providence Bridge Pedal event. But we got there about 11am, and still found many open spaces--maybe the weather did help a little bit.

I was quite excited that David was along, because for once, Kyra was going to be able to actually SEE the animals. Our typical visits to the zoo, without Daddy, she's in her stroller, as her little legs would never make it, and I certainly can't carry her that much.

This time, she sat on Daddy's shoulder, like a Princess, with the whole zoo at her feet. And because of the cooler weather, the animals were actually active! I can't tell you how many times we've gone to the zoo, and it's like going to a museum, or worse, the animals are taking naps behind a large log or rock, and all you see is an empty exhibit--not that exciting for any age!

The other thing that was neat is Kyra is starting to recognize the animals that we've been learning about, so when you say, "there's a zebra or giraffe", she gets it. Also the polar bear was taking a swim in his pool--more like doing the back stroke, and we were able to get right up close to the glass--makes you feel very small, and yet he was so graceful in the water. Amazing!

But the best thing was the elephants. Normally they are far away in their enclosure, or standing by the doors to the indoor area, wanting to be let in, so not very exciting. This time, one elephant in particular was in search of a snack, and was literally reaching his trunk as far as he could in order to snag some bamboo just on the other side of the fence. I can honestly say I've never seen an elephant's tongue--kind of like a big, pale slug, but this one gave us a great view while munching away on his contraband greens.

I've included some pictures taken from our visit, including a couple with the elephant. Enjoy!