Day 76

So yesterday (the 17th) I got Gus dressed in the best St. Patty's Day outfit EVER! He looked so darn cute in it!!! I took some pictures of him and then we had to get ready for our first ever trip to the NC Zoo! Here are the pictures of Gus from the morning:

We got on the road and stopped at Panera for bagels and then we got to the zoo around 11ish. We stopped to get Gus changed and then Wendy got a stroller for the girls.

The first thing we saw were the alligators! I had the perfect opportunity to use the telephoto lens that Steve bought me. I'm so glad I had it because it took amazing pictures!!

 

The kids posing together

After the alligators we headed over to see the Harbor Seals and polar bear. We got really lucky with the seals because they came right to where we were and there weren't any other people around us at the time!

Once we were done with the seals, we headed over to see the polar bear. On the way there was a polar bear den that you could crawl into and I took some pictures and then Wendy took some of me with the kids and one of me with Gus.

We came out of the polar bear exhibit and there was a cute play area for the kids to play in. Wendy took the kids in while I watched our stuff. I got a picture of Gus on the bee that they had... it's super cute! I took it for Steve.

After that part of the zoo we headed into the uphill part of the journey. Holy smokes am I out of shape... I was exhausted pushing Gus uphill! I have to say that the zoo is in the beginnings of the mountain region of the state and is pretty hilly anyway, but add to it a stroller and a baby and I was tired!

The animals that we saw at the top of the hilly part were the bears. They were so cute and playing together... I got some great pictures of the black bears and one of the grizzly sleeping under a waterfall.

We got to the connecting area where you walk between the North America section (where we parked and started) and then we were informed that the path to Africa was closed and we'd have to take the shuttle. Well... we ended up waiting in line for an hour for a shuttle. It was ridiculous. Before we got in line we checked out the Senora Desert part of the zoo. It was okay, but considering that I've been to the actual Senora Desert zoo... I wasn't impressed.

We got on the shuttle and then headed to Africa. We got off and headed into the cafe for lunch.

 

Wendy with Gus on the shuttle

After we had lunch we headed over to see the gorillas, monkeys, and baboons.

Then we headed over to see the grasslands and I was quite disappointed to not see anything. We had to walk way out of the way to see the rhinos...

 

Nap time for Gus

Along the way I took some great pictures of the flowers and trees.

After seeing the rhinos, we headed over to see the lions... but they weren't out where we could see them. I did take a picture of Wendy and the girls posing on the lion statue, but I was way disappointed to walk all that way and not see anything.

We headed back over to where the rhinos were and saw some elephants. They were cute and I took a picture of one in the middle of a poo... it made me laugh.

Once we were done looking at the elephants, we walked over to see my most favorite animal of all... the giraffe!

By this time, not only were the kids exhausted, but we were exhausted. The zoo is more than five miles long from one end to the other, and add in that we were back and forth in Africa (which is VERY hilly)... and I saw we put in at least an extra mile. 

Before we left for the day, we headed around the corner to see the zebra and giraffes together. Wendy took some pictures of me and Gus together and I love them!!

We got to the car at around 5:00 and then got on the road. Thankfully my GPS told me the back way and we didn't have any traffic. We got home around 6:30 and met Steve for dinner at Michelangelo's for pizza.

I went to bed early last night (like at 8:30) because I was exhausted and didn't fell well. That's why I am posting this today!!

>^..^<