After the hustle and bustle to get out the door and on our way we get into the car and take off! We make a brief stop in Keizer to pick up Poppa Mike, Grandma Jo, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Cagney then we are truly off! The kids were so wonderful in the car, it always helps to have Grandparents to keep them occupied while you drive. Finally get there and park, load up the stroller with all the necessities of 5 adults and 2 kids and make our way up to pay. The line was extraordinarily short which was a relief. Pay walk through the gate and there is a mountain goat sitting there hanging out for us to see! 
It was exciting for the kids to see something as soon as we walked in! Next we make our way down to actually pass the "ticket takers" and truly enter into the zoo. At this point the path splits two ways: to the left you can go through Eagle Canyon and to the right you can make your way down to the Steller Cove. We decided on going through Eagle Canyon and proceeded on. We made our way a little down the path and came to a Black Bear. 
He was taking a snooze in his cave but he was cute to look at all the same. Moving on, we make our way down the path on our way to the Eagles! Dylan was really excited to see the Eagles so we make our way through the throng of people and strollers to get to a spot where we can watch the Eagles. Finally we park the stroller and the kids jump out, normally you go into an observation area to see the Eagles but they were in an awkward location and you could see them better from outside the observation deck. So we sat on a couple rocks lining the walkway and were able to see the Eagles checking out all that was going on around them. 
After watching the Eagles for awhile we decide to resume our trek down the path. Making our way past the Eagles we continue on to see the fish, large and small alike. 
My kids love fish! 
They were so excited and animated as they watched the fish swim to and fro. 
They loved as the fish would swim right up next the the glass they would point and laugh excitedly! Just past the fish was a warming tank with baby turtles. Then around another curve was a larger tank with bigger turtles. Ally really felt connected with one turtle especially! 
After watching them for a bit we decide to proceed down to find a restroom for a potty break. So I wait in line with Dylan for around 20 minutes, meanwhile Grandma Jo is busy keeping Ally entertained.
After our brief break we carry on our exploration. Our next stop was the Bear again, their habitat was on a hill so you could see them at the top and again at the bottom. One particular bear seemed to be a little wound up...he was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....
entertaining the kids beyond belief! Ally was a little nervous every time the bear would come by and turn around his nose would almost touch the glass and Ally would back away a little each time. Dylan did something next that just about made me cry... he went over to Ally and said, "Come here Ally, its ok." In the process of saying that he gently laid his hand on her back and brought her back over to watch the bear more. 
WHAT GREAT KIDS I HAVE! Onward we trek the next attraction. The farm is the next segment in our busy and fun day. The first thing the kids see as we round the corner is the tractor! As mentioned in a previous blog Ally loves tractors and Dylan is pretty excited about them also! So we climb them up there and take pictures and Dylan "drives" it for a little bit.
Next Poppa is being silly and bouncing on tractor seats they have attached to the ground
and we put Dylan up there to take a picture with him, except as soon as I go to snap a picture Dylan spots the sheep! 
Dylan loves animals so very much, this whole zoo thing for him is just awesome! After admiring the sheep we wander our way into the barn. In the barn they have wooden horses to sit on and pretend to ride,
also because of the weather all of the goats were inside so we admired them as well. Just across the way is the Elk Meadow where the Elk and a Wolf is. So we cruise our way across the train tracks to admire the Elk and the Wolf. Aunt Cagney and Uncle Eric helped lift the kids up to see through the tall grasses
and see how cool the wolf was, he looked just like a dog relaxing, 
although I wouldn't want to go pet him! Next we hear the train coming so the kids jump in the stroller and I pop a wheelie with the stroller and run down the ramp so we can go see the train. As I turn the corner and run down towards the bottom there is a boy waiting to come up, he looks at me and says, "Cool wheelie!" Wow I am such a cool mom doing wheelies with the stroller!! Moving on....next stop is the Polar Bears! The polar bear exhibit was remarkably un-crowded. So we pull up on the ramp and watch as one of the polar bears paces back and forth from us to hiding behind one of the walls. 
After watching him for a bit playing and pacing all of a sudden some fish comes flying for the top of the rock ledge that surrounds the exhibit....
it was feeding time! He was being pretty persnickety though if the food didn't land close enough to him he would just stare up until she would throw more food. 
Dylan thought this was the height of hilariousness! 
Ally was just quiet and fascinated just taking it all in.
We spent about 30 minutes or so just watching Mr Polar Bear play and eat,
we were very lucky we saw quite a few things during this trip to the zoo that we normally don't see. Our last stop before lunch was going to be the elephants, since it was somewhat drizzly there was only one outside, so we went into the building where you can view the elephants. This for me was THE COOLEST PART OF THE DAY!!!!! We got a great spot right up by the window and proceeded to watch the most fascinating thing. The elephant would take a DEEP breath and stretch his trunk all the way out so he almost touched the glass. He would then point the tip of his trunk toward the ground and blow out all his breath to push all the hay and carrots of the floor towards him. Next he would use his trunk to gather up all of the food into a little pile then lift it up and stuff the whole pile into his mouth, which, surprisingly, he was very neat and very little to no food fell out of his mouth. The kids and I were so entranced I forgot to take pictures during, but Poppa went back and took a picture of the elephant walking around after we left. 
Our stomachs were rumbling by this time and so we searched out a spot to eat lunch. All of the tables under cover were taken, so we ended up on the balcony by the AfriCafe.
Luckily it wasn't raining at this point, just pretty windy at times. So we gobbled down Pb&J's and cheese crackers. All of the food the zoo sells is ridiculously expensive so we went to the vending machine for dessert. The kids had chocolate chip cookies, well Dylan did Ally only really wanted one bite! Oh well, she apparently was full and knew better than to eat more than she needed. Right around the corner from where we ate is the atrium and the beginning of the Africa division. So we make our way in to the atrium as soon as Dylan is finished with his cookie. Once they were able to locate birds this became an interesting stop. Some of those birds are tricky little guys and can hide pretty well. 
Ally really liked the waterfall she was hanging out by that mostly. 
Our next stop was right outside the door of the atrium where the Rhinoceroses were sleeping in their pen. He was in a good spot where the kids could see him without having to be lifted up. 
Continuing on down the path we come to the Hippopotamus's next, the first viewing location you couldn't see them very well. The second viewing location for the hippo's you could see them very well just sleeping up under the rock overhang. The kids were really interested even though they were not doing anything exciting. I look at this picture and they were just so interested in what each other had to say and they were just being so good, even though they should have been getting tired and grumpy by now. 
Moving ahead our next stop on the dry river bed path is the zebras! After observing the zebras for a brief bit,
we move on to trek up the hill up to see some monkeys....
we stare at them and they stare right back at us. 
Moving on to the giraffe, there was only one that we saw and he was inside eating some lunch.
Zig-zagging our way back down the hill we head towards the bats, snake, and the Ranger station. Ally wasn't quite sure that she liked the bats, she was more interested in watching the zookeeper in the exhibit cleaning it out....and I mean in the exhibit.....with the bats! Thank you but NO! Next, the animal that I skipped was the snake but Grandma Jo hung out with Dylan and got to see the snake get fed...a giant DEAD RAT! Thank heavens I did not see it! Dylan thought it was cool though! Next we hung out at the Ranger station for awhile playing, 
climbing all over a jeep and some faux ivory on display.
Weaving our way back through the African Rainforest, we make our way back up to take a quick break to rest and play on some statues
and then make our way into see.....THE PENGUINS!!!!! This was another of Dylan's favorites. at this point of the day the crowds were thinning a little so we didn't feel like we had to move on our way too quickly
so we watched the penguins waddle and swim for a while and got to rest a little also. 
After coming out of the Penguins we look around and decide that our last stop would be the Steller Cove. What a great place to end the day! 
We walk in and the Sea Lions are swimming in circles and every time that they come to the windows they slow down and swim right up to the windows as close to the kids and people as possible! 
The kids were so excited to see them, then we notice after awhile that they are jumping out so we run around to where we can see them at the top and they are doing tricks and getting treats. We also get to see the sea otter get a few treats too, then I notice some little girl I don't know carrying Ally around and decide ok...its time to go....! So we load up into the stoller and huff it up the hill to the exit. Up at the top there were so cute statues that caught the kids eyes, so they got out and were playing with them and taking pictures with them,
although Ally seemed to want to choke this one!!
! Poppa wanted to get a picture of himself with the goat statute, but then the kids wanted in on it....what a great picture of the 3 of them....you could never tell by this picture how much love Poppa has for his 2 grand kids, could ya???
By the looks of this picture it was definitely time to go.....this is how we all felt I think by this time.... 
One last stop at the gift shop, I found the kids cute little mugs
and Poppa and Grandma got them little sea turtles.
Ahh what a fabulous day...even with the not so great weather! Ready for next month?? Join us July 8th...Its the cheap admission day...only $2 bucks for everyone over 2, 2 and under are free!! Until next time......................... ***A special thanks to Poppa Mike and Aunt Cagney for the use of some of their pictures in this blog...! Love Ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment