Why would I do that? -Go to the zoo?

Yesterday, I took a trip with my son to the Bronx zoo (if you can't tell from all the picture uploaded.) I'm still recovering. Sorry about the overkill on pictures. but we really had a great time. When I found out that His pre-school was going to the zoo, it was a no-brainer. We were definitely going. My crazy work schedule has a lot of advantages. Being able to hang with EJ is one of them. Because I clock off before most people have their second cup of coffee, I can do whatever I want with the rest of my day... which usually starts with eating then sleeping. But not on this day. I would sacrifice that sleep part to spend some QT with EJ.

So, starting off right after work, I was surprisingly awake. I don't know if I was anxious or excited, but I didn't sleep a wink on the way to the zoo. Probably better off because I avoided the post-nap attitude. Anyway the trip was shorter than I expected. The 30 or so kids were very well-behaved, and the driver knew what he was doing.... squeezing through the Zoo's -not-fully-opened Gate with inches to spare on each side. I guess someone forgot to open part of it for the Buses.

I'm not sure Ethan knew what to expect,...It was cold and but once inside we just played a little game of follow the leader. The kids darted off toward one building with parents in tow. The groups of kids following each other dwindled down to just a few parents and kids after the first highlight of the day-Madagascar, a mix of various lemurs turtles, snakes and birds...

Next up feeding time for the Sea Lions.

The Sea Lions seemed excited to have and audience on a cold day. They must have been real hungry, because when the food showed up, they forgot all about us. Next stop, the "Monkey House" ..nothing at all like the "monkey bars." The monkey house is darker, smellier but still kinda fun. I think they were just waking up. 9am is early for a monkey too.

Then we ended up trying to find Tiger Mountain. It was a Long walk, but a pretty nice payoff. The Tigers looked majestic against the white, wet, cold snowy backdrop.

I wasn't excited about the Bird House, but there were a few pleasant surprises, … like the giant Pheasant lurking in a tree and some other

wayward birds that had escaped their enclosure.

Next up,...The Polar Bear was a little pre-occupied with breaking up the ice on his pond..

I kept waiting for it to do something cool, … but I guess not this time.

Oh and the peacocks, ... both male and female were everywhere!

After lunch and a ride on the bug carousel, we headed for the gorilla's, ….a

nd stopped off at the "mouse house" .. Eeww, they stunk worse than the monkeys…

The Cobgo Gorilla Forest was the highlight. Because it was cold, they were all cooped up inside, but we got to see their true love for celery, .. Even a little baby gorilla was there.

The last stop was with the Giraffe's which smelled worse than the mice… whoa. So Bad I could taste it.

There was also a baby Giraffe, feeding from mommy Giraffe.

So 18 hours after my day first began we were back on the bus… tuckered out. It was a very quiet trip home.

... But it was also amazing to see my son really having fun learning about new

animals. .

So I had to sacrifice a little sleep but I'm so glad to be able to spend some QT with EJ.

Next year, we'll have to see the penguins, the snow leopards, and the reptiles, maybe it'll be warm enough for the baboon to come out and play!