"Zoo... zoo... ZooPals,"
Mar. 7th, 2005 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreen"Zoo... zoo... ZooPals,
Zoo... zoo... ZooPals,
ZooPals make food fun!"
The boys very often sing that commercial jingle while playing, and I thought it was appropriate for my journal entry's subject. :-)
Yesterday, after church, Aunt Mary's memorial service and lunch, the boys and I went to the zoo. It was the perfect day for such an outing, and we were by far not the only Omaha-areans to have that idea. ;-) There was probably as many people there yesterday as I have seen on 4th of July weekends - wow!
The train, tram and carousel were not running, as it is still out of season for them, but the boys hardly noticed as it had been so long since we'd been to the zoo.
We got there at about 2pm, and we dove right into the Desert Dome - our first pick almost every single trip. What follows will be a long, picture-filled post. :-)
Mr. Meerkat invites you to the Zoo-perience.
After leaving the Desert, we decided to walk to the Aquarium exhibit. On the way, we passed the ostrich paddock:
The ostrich.
I was zoomed all the way in on this guy, as he was about as far out in his paddock as he could be from the Aquarium entrance. In fact, the boys could barely see him at all, which is why I took the picture in the first place.
I didn't take but just a few pictures inside the Aquarium. It was very crowded in there yesterday, so I just made sure to snag some of the jellyfish, and I let the rest of the stuff wait until next time.
The jellyfish.
After leaving the aquarium, the boys and I stopped for a snack in one of the pavilions. We had two large chocolate-and-vanilla twists, a milk and a large Coke. Jack finished first, and he watched all the birds on the other side of the fence while A.J. and I finished as well.
Jack hangs on the fence to watch the birds.
A.J. poses in front of a large tree just off the pavilion.
Next, we walked to the Cat Complex. We were greeted first by a husky Siberian tiger:
Siberian tiger.
It might've been close to dinner time for him, as he just paced the cage and roared the entire time we watched him. He was quick, too, and it was hard for me to get a really clear shot of him.
There were some tiger cubs born very recently at our zoo, and we got a chance to see the mama and babies resting peacefully. Aren't they adorable?
Mama and baby cubs.
We also saw a very sleepy old man. This poor tiger was exhausted!
Snoozing tiger.
Next, we walked to the Gorilla Valley. This building/exhibit is still fairly new for our zoo, and each time we go, a little bit more has been added to this section. However, though the facilities were wonderful, we didn't see any of the animals!
A.J. and Jack, 'monkey'-ing around on the wall in the Gorilla Valley.
After NOT seeing the gorillas, we walked into the Bird Aviary. We were greeted, even:
Our 'greeter' into the Aviary.
The birds are pretty, but they're not very interesting to me or the boys. We quickly walked through and then left the area for something more exciting - the elephant!
On the way to the elephant, though, we had to cross the train tracks:
The boys at the train crossing.
The elephant - ol' "Saggy Ears" himself.
After leaving Pachyderm Hill, we crossed the bridge and fed the fish... LOTS of fish! I'd come prepared with quarters for the food, and the boys enjoyed dropping each little piece individually - maximizing their experience, of course. ;-)
Bridge fish.
(To give you an idea, each of these fish is an average of 3 feet in length!)
The next stop was to the Garden of the Senses, where Jack stopped to chat with a crocodile...
Jack and the crocodile statue.
and A.J. conversed with an alligator...
A.J. and the alligator.
and I had come with pennies, of course. Each of the boys aimed at dropping their money into the mouth of their 'friend,' and they begged for more after the first round (but Mom held her ground [and her pocketbook!]).
A.J. climbing on the Komodo dragon.
While A.J. was playing on the Kimono dragon, Jack climbed atop the Rhinoceros. He was so proud to get up there all by himself!
Jack on the Rhino.
Once he jumped off, Jack decided he wanted to give the Rhino a 'nosey-nosey.' He was very quick about it, and both times I only managed to get his reaction AFTER he did so.
Attempt #1.
Attempt #2.
But when A.J. tried to give a 'nosey-nosey,' he was much slower, and I was able to get the "money shot" finally:
A.J. give the Rhino a 'nosey-nosey.'
The boys share a ride on the jaguar.
The boys hopped on the jaguar for a short ride before we left the Garden. After the long trek up the hill from the Garden's exit to the Giraffe Complex, we decided it was time to leave the zoo. We didn't see the Bear Canyon or the Jungle, but we did see a cute little black squirrel on our way out:
Blackie the Squirrel.
We love having our zoo membership, and I'm sure we'll be back very soon to see it all again! :-)
Zoo... zoo... ZooPals,
ZooPals make food fun!"
The boys very often sing that commercial jingle while playing, and I thought it was appropriate for my journal entry's subject. :-)
Yesterday, after church, Aunt Mary's memorial service and lunch, the boys and I went to the zoo. It was the perfect day for such an outing, and we were by far not the only Omaha-areans to have that idea. ;-) There was probably as many people there yesterday as I have seen on 4th of July weekends - wow!
The train, tram and carousel were not running, as it is still out of season for them, but the boys hardly noticed as it had been so long since we'd been to the zoo.
We got there at about 2pm, and we dove right into the Desert Dome - our first pick almost every single trip. What follows will be a long, picture-filled post. :-)
Mr. Meerkat invites you to the Zoo-perience.
After leaving the Desert, we decided to walk to the Aquarium exhibit. On the way, we passed the ostrich paddock:
The ostrich.
I was zoomed all the way in on this guy, as he was about as far out in his paddock as he could be from the Aquarium entrance. In fact, the boys could barely see him at all, which is why I took the picture in the first place.
I didn't take but just a few pictures inside the Aquarium. It was very crowded in there yesterday, so I just made sure to snag some of the jellyfish, and I let the rest of the stuff wait until next time.
The jellyfish.
After leaving the aquarium, the boys and I stopped for a snack in one of the pavilions. We had two large chocolate-and-vanilla twists, a milk and a large Coke. Jack finished first, and he watched all the birds on the other side of the fence while A.J. and I finished as well.
Jack hangs on the fence to watch the birds.
A.J. poses in front of a large tree just off the pavilion.
Next, we walked to the Cat Complex. We were greeted first by a husky Siberian tiger:
Siberian tiger.
It might've been close to dinner time for him, as he just paced the cage and roared the entire time we watched him. He was quick, too, and it was hard for me to get a really clear shot of him.
There were some tiger cubs born very recently at our zoo, and we got a chance to see the mama and babies resting peacefully. Aren't they adorable?
Mama and baby cubs.
We also saw a very sleepy old man. This poor tiger was exhausted!
Snoozing tiger.
Next, we walked to the Gorilla Valley. This building/exhibit is still fairly new for our zoo, and each time we go, a little bit more has been added to this section. However, though the facilities were wonderful, we didn't see any of the animals!
A.J. and Jack, 'monkey'-ing around on the wall in the Gorilla Valley.
After NOT seeing the gorillas, we walked into the Bird Aviary. We were greeted, even:
Our 'greeter' into the Aviary.
The birds are pretty, but they're not very interesting to me or the boys. We quickly walked through and then left the area for something more exciting - the elephant!
On the way to the elephant, though, we had to cross the train tracks:
The boys at the train crossing.
The elephant - ol' "Saggy Ears" himself.
After leaving Pachyderm Hill, we crossed the bridge and fed the fish... LOTS of fish! I'd come prepared with quarters for the food, and the boys enjoyed dropping each little piece individually - maximizing their experience, of course. ;-)
Bridge fish.
(To give you an idea, each of these fish is an average of 3 feet in length!)
The next stop was to the Garden of the Senses, where Jack stopped to chat with a crocodile...
Jack and the crocodile statue.
and A.J. conversed with an alligator...
A.J. and the alligator.
and I had come with pennies, of course. Each of the boys aimed at dropping their money into the mouth of their 'friend,' and they begged for more after the first round (but Mom held her ground [and her pocketbook!]).
A.J. climbing on the Komodo dragon.
While A.J. was playing on the Kimono dragon, Jack climbed atop the Rhinoceros. He was so proud to get up there all by himself!
Jack on the Rhino.
Once he jumped off, Jack decided he wanted to give the Rhino a 'nosey-nosey.' He was very quick about it, and both times I only managed to get his reaction AFTER he did so.
Attempt #1.
Attempt #2.
But when A.J. tried to give a 'nosey-nosey,' he was much slower, and I was able to get the "money shot" finally:
A.J. give the Rhino a 'nosey-nosey.'
The boys share a ride on the jaguar.
The boys hopped on the jaguar for a short ride before we left the Garden. After the long trek up the hill from the Garden's exit to the Giraffe Complex, we decided it was time to leave the zoo. We didn't see the Bear Canyon or the Jungle, but we did see a cute little black squirrel on our way out:
Blackie the Squirrel.
We love having our zoo membership, and I'm sure we'll be back very soon to see it all again! :-)
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 09:33 pm (UTC)Thanks for the pics-- it's almost like going. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 09:57 pm (UTC)Oddly, I am most interested in the black squirrell, never having seen one before!
no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 10:35 pm (UTC)I thought the black squirrel was just too cute, and like you, I'd never seen one before. He was a fast little bugger, though!
no subject
Date: 2005-03-08 05:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-07 10:34 pm (UTC)#1
#2
no subject
Date: 2005-03-08 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-08 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-02 12:29 pm (UTC)They're called Komodo Dragons, not Kimono Dragons.
And damn you, zoopals! :D
no subject
Date: 2005-06-02 08:11 pm (UTC)