We went to the zoo!

Today it was in the 70s, very nice out! So, because William doesn't have school or dance on Thursday, we took a trip to the zoo!

Last week, this is what it looked like: I think it was like 17F or something.

We drove, so no fun DART pics. Our closest rail station has a ton of road construction making it a bit of a mess to get over there, plus I wanted to bring the double stroller which is too large for public transit.

Our first stop (I was instructed to keep moving at the penguin exhibit, usually our first stop) was the mandrill exhibit.

Here, William asked "A baboon? Is that some kind of cow?" to which Aldous answered "No, William. A baboon is a monkey". *sigh* Anyway, it's a mandrill.

Here he is, again.

We were most impressed with his iridescent blue-violet bottom.

Next stop: meerkats.

I let the boys out here. There was no one at the zoo when we go there. It was pretty nice. 

William "wook! I can see the whole WORLD!"

Aldous has been acting "shy" lately. he did say cheese here, tho. While looking at his feet.

At the chimpanzee exhibit. These are also not a kind of cow.

William said "hey! HEY!! Did you see that cool sprinkler in there?" Actually, I missed that. Darn.

See? No one.

On our way to the monorail ride, we walked by and saw the cheetah.

And, they insisted on sitting here for a photo.

William wanted to get on the big one, too. Here he said "Ahoy!"

We went under this water fall on the monorail. It's the most exciting part of it. Really.

We also saw this animal standing next to a giant nest of ostrich eggs.

 After that fun ride, we walked back to the Savannah exhibit to eat lunch at the Serengeti Grill. I've gotten a cheeseburger (well William has) there THREE times and it always sucks. The fries are good, tho, and the chicken strips are, well, chicken strips.

In any case, we ate there in the company of lions.

The boys cried all thru lunch, ate no food, then got into a fight. WOO HOO!!

 Next we went to the reptile house, stopping first at William's favorite exhibit.

They've had this "Ghost of the Bayou" exhibit of albino alligators for a while.

It's sort of both shack-like and swamp-like, all at once.

Next we checked out some of the other fun critters. Big frog: that's Aldous' hand below.

These look like toys.

And the old "snake in a basket" exhibit. 

Aldous was pretty poorly behaved this trip, but William also had a bit of moment, when he was running and his shoe came off. Oh, the drama.

So, we decided it was time to head home. Heading home means stopping by the carousel for TWO rides in a row! They wanted to ride "The Nest"

They really do love this ride, despite the looks of horror on their faces.

For the next ride, Aldous didn't want an animal. He saw the bench, hopped up, and said "Now *this* is nice". 

 Ah, the comfy, safe, bench.

 William tried the Triceratops for his last ride. When the bell rang for the carousel to start, he said "oh, good! We're about to cast off!" His nautical references today have been quite silly. He's well-known for his carousel stunt riding, too.

That concludes our trip to the zoo!! I hope you had as much fun as I did! bwaaa hhaaa hhaa!
Here's one more giggle, for your ride home.