from one zoo to another

On Monday, with perfect weather on the horizon (full sun and high of 80 with low humidity . . . ahhhhhhh), we decided to leave our zoo of a house and visit the Como Zoo. This is a mini-trip which we take at least once a summer. The short hour long car trip to St. Paul is a small price to pay for a day full of exotic animals, carnival rides, and fun with the fam. Oh, and did I mention that it is FREE! That's right! Parking Fee = $0, Admission for Adults = $0, Admission for Children = $0. We did, however, make a donation to the zoo, because we certainly want this park to remain open for years to come.

Maybe we are creatures of habit, but we always see the animals at the zoo in a particular order (anal, I know). Because of how the zoo is set up, the flamingos and ducks are always first and foremost. Claire loves ducks. We see them around often, and she always get very excited and says, "duck, duck, duck" when she sees any bird that resembles a duck.


Next are the seals. We love to watch them swim and jump, and love to hear them babble to one another. It always seems as though these slippery little creatures are putting on a show and playing to the crowd!

Claire caught a glimpse of a seal who was waddling into the aquarium. She squealed, bounced, and pounded on the glass as the seal stared at her, probably wondering what all the fuss what about.

Then we were onto the penguins. I could watch these little guys all day long. I love the way they look in their little tuxedo attire. Let's face it, these dudes have swagger. It was also amazing to see them zip around under the water. I never knew how fast they are!

The newest exhibit is the Polar Bears. This picture doesn't do it justice. They are incredibly tall and thin bears who seemed to be in the wrong place since it was so warm outside. But, one of the zoo keepers assured us that it can get warm in their natural habitat, and they can cool down in their stream when they need to.

There were butterflies all over the place! I don't know if they try to stock the zoo grounds with butterflies and keep them their due to all of the flowers everywhere, or if they were escaping from the butterfly exhibit . . . either way, it was fun to see so many of them.

We also saw giraffes, zebras, buffalo, and long horned sheep . . .

. . . and this ostrage! She peered up when we walked by her pen. I don't know who was studying who harder. She was just as interested in us as we were in her.

Then came the monkeys. These guys intrigue me. They seem so human like in their movements and mannerisms. They are also incredibly athletic as they jump and leap effortlessly from one small branch to another. Super fun to watch.

This orangutan was the coolest animal in the zoo (in my opinion). She sat and stared at everyone staring at her. All the other orangutans could care less about us. They just kept to themselves as they munched on random leaves and grass. But not this lady. She just sat and people watched without a care in the world.

I think I bonded with her at our last summer's visit. She had just had a baby, and was cradling, feeding and teaching her little one as everyone ohhhhed and ahhhhhed at how cute the two of them were together. I was holding Claire in my arms much like she was holding her baby, and she looked me straight in the eye for what seemed like a full minute before she outstretched her hand as though she wanted to hold Claire! I will never forget that mommy moment we shared! I couldn't help but wonder where her baby was now . . .

Mr. Adolphsoon, Life Science Teacher, was having a great time teaching his girls about the animals and their habitats.

Before we called it a day, we stopped for a twist cone, rode a few rides (NOT free I might add . . . maybe this is where they rake it all in!), and revisited a couple of our favorites before our ride home.

It was an awesome day! I don't remember going to the zoo a lot as a kid, but I sure hope my kids will have some memories of our days at the zoo for years to come.