Today's adventure was the San Diego Zoo. I had been watching the panda cam for the week before we left. The boys had just watched Kung Fu Panda. We were ready to see some Panda.
We got to the zoo with no problems, thanks to Dashboard Doris. It was strange to drive through neighborhoods to get there. But we parked and headed for the entrance. We found member services and waited to get our tickets. Tickets, what tickets, you don't have any tickets. The staff of the zoo were very helpful, making phone calls, checking everywhere, but not handing over any tickets. We had to go talk to the shuttle people when they showed up. They wouldn't give us any tickets. After an hour, I got a bit fed up and we decided to go buy new tickets and worry about a refund later. We had been on the phone with our friend the travel agent about 4 times in the hour. All the while, sweetE wanted to go home.
We perused our map and decided to go left. What is the first exhibit we encounter? The snakes. I hate snakes. So I graciously offer to let the boys go there while I check out the gift shops. I do regret not seeing the blue poison dart frog, but not enough that I would risk a visual encounter with a snake. We moved on to turtles and lizards and crocodiles. There was an interesting blue and red lizard that caught my attention. I am used to lizards being much more drab. The turtles were huge and I felt so bad for them in their dusty pens. I have always thought that turtles need ponds or oceans or water of some amount.
After consulting the map, we decide to ride the skyway to the top of the park and work our way back. Doesn't hurt that one of the first exhibits on the way back is the Pandas. Can you tell I was excited about the pandas? SweetE loves the ride on the skyway and my main job is keep him from standing up to see better. It was fun, but surprisingly chilly. We also hadn't realized how the zoo went uphill as you moved towards the back. So yeah to walking downhill.
We are zoo members at our local zoo and decided to stop and see how their polar bear exhibit compared. We like ours better so we strolled on to the next stop. We stopped and checked out the flamingos, they are more orange than pink.
As we walked our way to the panda exhibit, we had to keep moving off to the side to let double decker buses go past. They detracted a lot from the atmosphere of the zoo. Between the rumble of the engine, the smell of the exhaust and the threat of getting smooshed, I think the buses are a bad idea.
We found the pandas and the line that went with them. The boys were hungry, remember the one hour delay getting in, so we stopped for lunch. Lunch with my children is always an adventure. SweetP has got to be the pickiest eater I know. He makes me look like an adventurous eater, and I am pretty picky. So we took the plunge and hoped that there would be something on the menu that he would eat. (We can't just let him go hungry if he doesn't like the food, he will throw up. So we have to make sure that he eats.) He recently discovered that nachos are good. Just chips and cheese, thank you. We got everybody fed, checked out the gift shop, bought a Christmas ornament and got in line.
We're gonna see the pandas, we're gonna see the pandas. I had been looking forward to this for weeks. After a reasonable wait, we were in. The zoo employee or volunteer was speaking into the microphone in a hushed voice. Telling us about the pandas. The first panda was asleep in the corner, hard to see. But Zhen-Zhen and her mom were much more visible. Her mom was eating bamboo, behind a log, and looked so cuddly you wanted to give her a squeeze. Zhen-Zhen was asleep in the tree. Proves that babies and small children can sleep anywhere. She is the one in the picture. Her mom-mom wandered off to the water and then to the back of the enclosure. I managed to not get a single good picture of her. I have fallen in love with Zhen-Zhen. At the end of the day sweetE decided his souvenir would be a small stuffed Zhen-Zhen. He has slept with her every night since.
After we left the pandas, we wandered off to find the gorillas. We found them surrounded by a crowd. This is when being small comes in handy, the boys and I wiggled our way to the front. And we were rewarded with a show. One of the gorillas got up on the wrong side of the mat this morning. He (had to be a boy, we girls don't act like this) was picking on the other gorillas, wrestling with them. Then we would hit the glass and run off and try to look impressive. I'm adding gorillas to my list of creatures to avoid in person. Fascinating but powerful.
By this time, the boys were running out of steam. SweetE really wanted to go home. SweetP was working up some serious whining. We slowly worked our way to the meerkats (mostly because there was a bathroom there) and on to the kangaroos. I was disappointed that they didn't have big kangaroos, just tree kangaroos. We saw a real camel, their humps are much pointier than I had imagined.
Last stop before the gift shop, the koalas. I was ready to grab one and take it home. They looked like they would just snuggle in and hang out. SweetP and I fell in love right there. It was hard to get a good picture of them because they hug the tree. But, my goodness, they are cute.
At the realization that the next stop was the gift shop, sweetE perked up. I asked each of them what their favorite animal was. I was going to get stuff for their favorites books while we were at the gift shop. SweetE said tigers (I was surprised, but okay) and sweetP said koalas. The zoo has two gift shops by the exit. One for kids and one for grownups. We perused the kid one first. The boys each picked an item and Ducky went off to pay. I took sweetE over to find items for their books. I found postcards and stickers with their animals on them. Yeah!
We headed home with Dashboard Doris giving directions. One wrong turn because she gave the order too late, but she recalculated and we were able to find our way back. SweetE was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.
Back at the hotel, Ducky and sweetP went swimming and I read a book while sweetE napped. We walked to the beach before dinner and Ducky and sweetP waded in the surf. Warm water is an odd sensation when you are from up north. SweetE was reluctant to get near the water. But got brave and got close. Unfortunately, when he realized the wave was going to catch him, he turned to run. He tripped over his own feet and down he went. The wave got him and soaked him. SweetE does not like to be wet or dirty and now he was both.
New mission, find dry clothes so we can have dinner. We stopped at a t-shirt shop and I ran in and asked if they had little kid clothes. Lucky me, they did. We got him a new sweatshirt and pair of swim trunks. He was happy, we were happy and we were off to get dinner.
If you eat at Luigi's at the Beach, and you order a calzone, make sure someone else is going to help you eat it. It is the size of a regulation football. I only ate about 15% of it. We ended the night by wandering back to the hotel and getting boys ready for bed. We had another big day ahead of us. Seaworld.
3 comments:
I loved the San Diego zoo. It sounds like you all had a good time.
Great report - I felt like I was there.
Turtles do need water, but tortoises don't. Are you sure they weren't tortoises? (Tortoises have a more humpy shell while turtles are more flat and sleek.)
And did you know that flamingos are pink because of the shrimp they eat, so maybe the orangey ones are eating different kinds of shrimp.
Koalas are adorable, alright, but very expensive to keep because they only eat absolutely fresh and tender eucalyptus, which often has to be flown in from warmer climates.
(Guess who was a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago? :))
ann- Glad you liked the report. They may have been tortoises, but they looked so sad all dusty and dry. SweetP had learned about flamingos earlier in the school year and he informed us all about their color. I was just surprised that they seemed so orangey.
Knowing what we know about zoo animal diets, I don't think there is an inexpensive animal there. It is just so educational to see them all. Velcro wouldn't like it if we brought anyone home.
SweetP is headed into his fourth year of zoo camp in a few weeks. He is becoming quite the little expert on animals. Maybe he will become a docent when he is older. :)
Post a Comment