Tuesday I took a vacation day to take Gloria and Baylor to the zoo in Baltimore. Neither of them have ever been to a real zoo and it was a toss up between the Baltimore and National Zoo. I chose Baltimore because it was closer and smaller, both are a plus if either of them had a meltdown. It was an easy drive down 83 and were there in a flash. Let the photo taking commence!
Bronze Lions ready for their closeup.
And gophers. When I lived in ND, there were gophers EVERYWHERE. It is still odd to see them in a zoo.
Of course the call of the railing wall is loud to five year olds but does not register to us moms.
He is such a handsome guy!!
And why would they put a play ground set at the entrance to any place? But we stopped and played while Gloria went to the gift shop.
We took the tram to the zoo from the entrance. I don't think we were up to walking that far.
And what little boy does not love riding a train?
The first exhibit we went to was the Polar Bear.
He said, "I cannot believe I am seeing a real Polar Bear." While it never moved and his pool was drained while it was being cleaned, it was still fun to see a real Polar Bear.
We went into the tundra car, more to sit in the A/C but it was a fun part of the exhibit.
Especially the steering wheel!
On the way out we walked in the bear tracks and posed with the bronze bear.
And of course being in Baltimore, we took a photo of the raven.
Next stop, African Journey.
There were a lot of kids there and I lifted Baylor up to see in this exhibit as it was lower than the path we were on. Baylor said a gem, "Nothing in here but some dead rhinoceroses." Just like dead animals are a normal part of a zoo. We are still laughing at that one.
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Family Selfie
We went into the walk through aviary and the birds were quiet and not flying around very much.
More birds outside.
Zebras on the other side of the Savannah.
Ostrich checking us out.
The cheetah was sleeping right in front of the viewing window.
And then Pumba and his family arrived.
Down the road from Africa was the Antarctic with penguins. They are actually building a new huge penguin exhibit which will be really nice once it is done. This one was a bit sad looking.
Of course Baylor got to ride the camel. Apparently the camel could have handled all three of us at once but we chose not to abuse the poor animal and just let her carry Baylor. He had no fear and even remember they spit.
Thankfully no one was spit on!
The elephants were all separated for some reason
Baylor was not sure if the giraffe was dead or a statue but in the end decided it was real and just being very still. Again, dead animals are apparently totally normal at a zoo.
Then we saw the three lion cubs playing in the sun.
Time to take down the bamboo.
Some long tailed primates.
Nearly extinct yellow frogs from Panama that the zoo is working on a breeding program to reintroduce them to the native home.
An aligator that was sleeping under water and not moving. It totally looked fake. Or dead.
Then we saw the chimps. This guy was sitting down near one window and we kept walking past him.
All of a sudden he was screeching and came barreling down to the other end.
He sat down.
Picked his nose
and like all men
he ate it. (all men BUT my little man)
Bronze gorilla shot.
My family
Of course we had to have some ice cream.
And ride the train.
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We saw wild deer while on the train. What I found unusual about that is the zoo is surrounded by city and residential areas. They must live is a small area to be safe from cars and city life.
After the train we trekked to the farm animals. The mule kisser is a zoo keeper. I am sure animal kissing is discouraged for the public.
Baylor loved the slide in the silo and it was another break for us to sit and talk.
Moving on we went to the bog (under construction and filled with native construction workers). But there was a life size tortoise for the kids to sit on along the way.
We made our way to an enormous tree that was so real looking some people thought it was. Until you touched it and realized it was concrete.
There were exhibits inside including a mammoth skull.
The exit was a slide and even thought it said no adults I went down it. And found out that the slippery surface was worn out at the bottom when I came to a sudden, abrupt stop right at the bottom. I was almost launched off of it it was such a fast stop.
These shells also spun around which was fun either inside or sitting on top.
I did not see any animals in here but Mamma and Baylor popped up in the look out bubbles.
And he came out the tunnel. He felt like a burrowing animal like a rabbit.
And we looped back to the farm. On the way in all the horse saddles were full of kids so Baylor did not want to wait. He said, 'I'm not really into horses. Let's go." But this time when no one was there, he was into all three.
And we made our way back to the exit and bronze lions for our last shot of the day. The zoo was a wonderful family adventure and maybe next time we will drive a little further to the National Zoo!
