Zoo with Abba

For our fieldtrip this week, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and a day off for Abba to take a family trip to the zoo.  The new American Trail opened Labor Day and I have been waiting impatiently to go ever since.

  For our family, any trip to the zoo starts with a visit to the big cats.  The tiger was much more active than usual This was good since the lions did nothing but sleep.  Still how often do you get to see a whole family of lionesses

As we watched them sleep, this little guy came to visit.  I have no idea what he is other than an insect but he was fun to watch.

   

Froggy unexpectedly got to pet a donkey who was out for his morning stroll. 

And on to the new trail.  It took some winding past abandoned habitats to find the proper section (we took a wrong turn) but finally we made it.  And we were well rewarded.  The seals were our first stop and pretty lame.  The sea lions came next and more than made up for it. 

 

Since the early days of our relationship, sea lions have been special to Abba and I so it was a double bonus.  We spent a huge block of time watching this guy and his buddy put on a show of their own design.  When we finally were willing to move on we discovered there were two more viewing spots where you can watch them from an underwater vantage.

 

We also got to see another of our Burgess friends, Paddy the Beaver.  Froggy is having a blast meeting the friends as she is reading about them. 

  

The otter exhibit is one of Abba's favorites.  Froggy was much more interested in their names than watching the one lone awake guy intent on breakfast.

 

Froggy climbed on practically every statue we passed during the day.  This path does not have nearly as many as our traditional route.  The sign in the background warns visitors that the statue is hot.  Not on a day that reaches a high of 65F.   

Our final stop was the cheetah cubs.  We saw them when they first came on exhibit at about 2months of age  and they looked like this.  We were surprised at how fast they have grown. They still act like kids but look like full grown adults now.  They stalked the children who came past the exhibit clearly hunting in their way.