The Jacksonville Zoo - April 20, 2008

On Sunday, April 20 we decided we needed a family day and went to the zoo. We were treated to the zoo trip by Margo and Art who have a membership! So, on Sunday afternoon off we went, Henry, me, the kids and Margo. It was a beautiful day for a stroll around the zoo. Seth had so much fun. He got to see so many animals. Fortunately for him, Margo (a.k.a. Mama) was there to show him everything there was to see. She pointed everything out and told him a bit about each animal. It was really so sweet! My favorite moment was just a few minutes in to our walk. Seth noticed that all of the animals he was seeing (at first) were laying down. I guess this frustrated him because he then began shouting at all of them to "GET UP!!!" Of course he shouted even more if we laughed at him...which we did! He was so insistant that they all get up! A relativeley new attraction at the zoo is the "Stingray Bay" ("All barb have been trimmed, much like a dogs toenails, for your safety"...no joke, that was an actual disclaimer!). Basically, you pay a couple of dollars to go under this big tent with a very large, shallow pool and "pet", or attempt to pet, the stingrays, much like you would find at Seaworld. Of course this fascinated Seth. We, Margo and I, took our turns trying to pet the rays but to no avail! The rays stayed closer to the middle of the pool, so unleass you were Michael Jordan there was no way you could really pet them! It was fun trying! After Stingray bay we went and visited the Giraffes. At this site you can actually feed the Giraffes, if they are interested! At first we didn't think we would get the chance, but then a "teenage" giraffes walked over to us and let us feed him/her. Seth was not too sure about it at first and let me hold the branch of leaves. Just as the giraffe had almost finished eating, Seth grabbed the branch and the giraffe promptly stole it away from him! It was really cute and Seth was pretty thrilled with that. We then visited all of the other exhibits. Seth liked watching the monkeys (Bonobos) play. He also was fascinated with the snakes. The only thing that probably topped his list of fun sightings wasn't a sighting at all, it was the train! There is a train that circles the zoo. Seth had a blast riding on it with us!