DC Zoo, revisited

It being a gorgeous day, Jared and I went to the DC zoo. I forgot that May is fieldtrip month, and there were TONS of fieldtrips there, it was totally packed! But then again, when's the DC zoo not packed?!

I'm beginning to like the DC zoo. I used to prefer the Baltimore zoo. Probably partly because we had been going for years, ever since Alex was born, to the Baltimore zoo and it was familiar. yeah yeah, I know, I'm admiting to being old and resisting changes. :p

Anyway, we discovered parts of the DC zoo we had never seen before and that was fun, aside from the fact that that particular trail lead us back to the parking lot, opposite direction from where we needed to go. And needless to say, I asked Jared if he was ready to go home, or wanted to go further, he picked the latter and the entire way back the trail we just came from was... uphill!!! Ok ok, I'll stop griping now.


We really did have fun. Jared got to spend most of it in the zoo's stroller, which he liked very much, since we haven't used a stroller in ages! He sat there with his chicken nuggets, cotton candy and popcorn, having a grand ole time. The occasional animal was just a passing thought. :D


He did like the elephants and made sure we saw them. Lucky for us, one of the baby elephants was feeling playful today and was doing overtime on some really beat-up looking toys. The only thing that tore Jared away from the elephants were giraffes. He even remembered that the giraffes live in the Elephant House (yeah go figure!). But when we got there, alas, no giraffes. There was a sign there explaining that the giraffes had been sent to another zoo in Tempa, FL. Now someone please explain to me how the zoo transports giraffes. I was imagining big crates with openning on top where the giraffe heads stick out down I-95, while Eric opted for a view of giraffes elegantly walking up the ramp on an airplane where the flight attendants politely ask them to watch out for their heads. Heh. If you know, please let me know! Ok ok, I suppose I can google them, I'm sure SOMEONE out there has posted something about that.


We saw Tai Shan, the baby giant panda that was born at the DC zoo not long ago. He seems happy and well adjusted. He was busily running up and down the hill, putting on quite a show!


And speaking of shows, the organgutangs were BUSY! The O-line, across the main pathway of the zoo, connects 3 climbing towers with ropes between them. This was the first time I had ever seen the organgutangs use them. In fact, they were thoroughly enjoying the performance they put on for everyone, even posing for the hundreds of cameras aiming high. Lots of people, including Jared, were clapping for them. It was a lot of fun!

The disappointments? We didn't get to see the giant squid, AGAIN! Where could it be hiding in such a little tank? :D