The zoo actually has animals......

Little Buddy and I had a surprise adventure to the zoo today.  I have not been the best Mom lately, I am frankly too tired on the weekends to do much.  I decided last night that no matter how tired I was today we were heading out for some fun.  I am so glad we did because Little Buddy was brave enough to actually ride a zebra on the carousel, last year we could only sit on the bench.   On top of the three carousel rides he also rode on the train three times.  We went on the wild banana ride once, he gets a little nervous before it starts because it makes a loud noise.  Once he gets going he makes that wild banana fly high into the sky.

I talked him into actually seeing animals this visit.  He really likes the rides and the water area, and I don't blame him because it was mighty hot and humid while we were there.  He walked a LONG way with his walker and those little legs of his.  He was plum tuckered out after seeing some animal friends.  Here is a bit of what we were able to see.

Penguins.  Yup, we have some here in hot Florida, the water they swim in must be sooooo cold!

A black bear.  He looked very hot in all that fur.

The manatee exhibit is my favorite and not because it is inside and nice an cool and dark.  This zoo is a rehabilitation hospital for manatees.  They are very successful in helping them return to the wild after they have been ill or injured.  This is a baby above.  She/he was just hanging out at the bottom of the tank for a while then headed up to the top to get a breath of air.  Her Mom  was always near by keeping a close eye on her. 

Little Buddy loved this area as he could really see them up close.  There were fish and turtles in the tank, too.

This turtle was massive.  She kept swimming by us over and over again.

They have two gorgeous rescued bald eagles.  They are so regal.

There was also a special exhibit with robotic dinosaurs.  Little Buddy did not seem to impressed, Mr. 20 would have loved this when he was little.  He knew every dinosaur there was and what period they were from.  Some dinosaurs were life sized and made movements and sounds.  I sure would not want to run into Tyrannosaurus Rex with all those teeth!

We made it two whole hours, which is a long time for a little one to walk around with his walker in the heat and humidity of Florida.   I am not crazy about zoo's but I am glad that ours has space for the animals and that they are treated well.  There is a large area with elephants, giraffes and zebras where they can roam.  We will see that next time. 

Hope you are having a cooler weekend than us!  Happy Father's Day to those of you celebrating.