We didn't stay there long, so then it was on to one of my favorites...the elephants! They were being fed while we watched. They were covered in Georgia red clay. I had never seen a red elephant before.
We passed a sleeping wart hog family on our way into the jungle.
Then we saw the giraffes. A baby giraffe had been born about a month ago and it was finally out in the open for everyone to see.
The rhino was being elusive, as well as the lions and tigers. The zebras, however, were glad to put on a show for the camera.
Zoo Atlanta has a lot of gorillas. Growing up in San Antonio, I think we had one. OK, maybe two. However, they NEVER came out of their cave. NEVER! So I was in awe watching the gorillas and their families out in the open. We saw silverbacks:
And we saw a mama gorilla and her baby. The baby gorilla was born on May 23rd, the same birthday as Atom!
Fletch even got to take a picture with a gorilla!
(did you people really think I'd give my baby to a gorilla?)
We saw some smaller monkeys on the way to the bigger primates.
Then we were on to the orangoutangs. They are smart! There is an interactive tree in their area with a touch screen. They can play matching and memory games and they are rewarded with treats. I had a little Planet of the Apes flash back for a moment.
We went in the reptile house to cool off for a bit, but I didn't take too many pictures in there. It's hard to take pictures of animals behind glass. Luckily, I got some great pictures of the Pandas even though they were behind glass too.
I love pandas. Not only are they adorable, but they were the mascot at my first elementary private school, Henry de Oso. Weird animal for a mascot, but we didn't really have any team sports anyway.
On the way out we took a ride on the carousel. Fletch picked the giant gorilla to ride on at first, but then we moved to the manatee because it moved up and down. Again, trying to pry his hands off of that pole was a challenge.
I was able to console him with another pole-gripping opportunity, when we went on the train ride.
After the train ride was over, Fletch made me aware that it was about time to leave. He adamantly demanded we go, but passed out before we even got to the gift shop. I grabbed a souvenir tee for him and enjoyed the air conditioning for a little bit. Considering he was passed out, I figured I'd go check out the Cyclorama. Of course there are no strollers allowed on the tour, but he had a good 30 minute nap before the tour started. There are also no pictures allowed. The only picture I took was of the The Texas, a civil war train that was part of The Great Locomotive Chase. I'd give you details if I knew them. Again, I'm not a huge Civil War buff. But here's a picture...
Well you know I had to take a picture of this, right? wink, wink. The tour starts with a brief history movie about the Battle of Atlanta. Then we were all escorted onto the spinning platform in the Cyclorama. It was an interesting thing to see. Would I be bored out of my mind if I was a kid on a field trip, absolutely.
Friday evening, we had friends come over before we departed the next day. We grilled and hung out all night talking about a wide assortment of things until we all threw in the towel and passed out. Saturday morning we loaded up the Xterra and hit the road back home. We were blessed to have safe travels there and back. It was great to spend a good amount of time with family and friends. As much as we enjoyed traveling for the month, we're looking forward to everyone coming to visit us at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment