Second trip to Africa

Despite it being the hottest day of the year so far (in the 90's), my mom and I went to the zoo after work. Normally the zoo closes at 5, but this was one of the Wednesdays that it stays open until 7 for zoo members. I was not as crowded as it is during the day which made it very nice. We took our time walking through the new African Journey and did not do the whole zoo like I did this weekend. There were things that I saw better on Saturday and then there were some animals that were better this time.

It took some coaxing, but I got mom to stick her head in the lions mouth!

Guess what! I got to feed one of the giraffes! They are my second favorite animal. (I bet you can't guess my first favorite!) His tongue was very long and rough.

Heal the Wound

Tonight after watching a movie with my sister, we talked about our deep hurts and wounds. On the way home I was listening to the radio and heard the song "Heal the Wound" by Point of Grace. Wow! What timing...it really ministered to me about what we talked about.

World Travelers

Today, my dad, brother, nephew, and I went to the zoo. We visited Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and a farm all in the same day! We joined some friends for lunch in the park midway through our day.

Anthony enjoying a "ride" in the old African Safari jeep.

Enjoying a banana while taking a leisurely drive.

Ready to journey to Africa.

These flowers reminded me of "Horton Hears a Who".

Dad & I riding the sky ride.

Anthony & Bart riding the sky ride.

Zebra

Storks

Mongoose

An ostrich that tried to eat my foot while I was taking the below picture of a different ostrich. I was not aware that this one was right below me.

Lions

Anthony comparing his hand to a young lion's paw.

What animal could this be lurking in the grass?

You can now feed the giraffes. However, they did not want to come over and eat the green leaves that people had; they seemed to prefer the hay instead. Anthony and I were disappointed; we were looking forward to feeding them.

Foxes

There are different cameras placed around the new African Journey to allow you to zoom in on some of the animals. We discovered that one of the cameras that is used to view the pond area also swung around and we were able to capture ourselves on video as well. I then took this picture of Anthony and Bart capturing both the front and back views of them.

Stork

Peacock

Ringtail Lemur

Kangaroos

Anthony pretending to be a joey. I remember when this exhibit was new; we loved to race to the kangaroo and jump into the pouch.

Look at the size of that hand! Anthony's hand fits into the palm!

Orangutan

Baby Canada goose

Anthony wrestling a camodo dragon

Anthony & I rode the boat together.

Big turtle...

Little turtle

Otter

Sea lion

The two geese...Mother Goose is in the background and has been a main staple of the zoo for as long as I can remember. The younger live goose is in the foreground.

My favorite drinking fountain. You just can't pass up this photo opportunity of sticking your head in a lions mouth!

Anthony and the farm horse.

Hanging out with the goats in the farm area of the zoo.

After the zoo, we went back to my house. Anthony and I made cookies while Dad and Bart watched a movie. Then we ordered pizza for supper before they went home. It was one of the best times I have had at the zoo.