San Diego Road Trip - Day Nine

Part Two - San Diego Zoo

This stop really highlighted the differences between the boys. Ben has always loved animals - anything to do with animals, he's there. Ry, he has an interest in animals but not in the same all consuming way. He's more about things that move, things that hold up other things and the things that make these things do those things.

Ben was eager to see all the different animals and Ry was eager to ride on the double decker bus and please, oh please, the moving sidewalk. While it was a little busy at first with the summer camps (how cool is that?) it was downright crazy at the end of the day. Nonetheless, we persevered and saw almost everything. We didn't ride the tram, much to Ry's disappointment, and we couldn't find the hummingbird or insect exhibits, much to Ben's disappointment.

We saw lots of cool critters from the top deck of the bus (where else would Ry want to sit?)









They have recently redone the elephant exhibit, and it's stunning. Gives me hope for the plans they have at our own zoo. Nestled into this section was a terrific snake exhibit. It was very exciting for Ben but a little creepy for me. Ick.





They also have a really spectacular giraffe exhibit. The fence is really low (especially if you're a giraffe) and I'm pretty sure they could have reached over and said "Hi" or "Gee, that looks yummy!". Ry really liked them.









There are tons of cool snakes and reptiles, too. Both boys seemed to enjoy these. It might be the lack of crowds that made them feel this way.







I got a few pics of the boys:









Now for the cool stuff. Our zoo is great. But we do not have pandas, koalas, camels, Galapagos tortoises or a scary secretary bird. For your viewing pleasure, here you go.



















And so concludes the vacation photos. From the zoo, we drove north to Fresno. It does not smell good there. Nice hotel tho.