Goin' to the Zoo

We decided to celebrate the end of a successful first week of French camp with our fellow pseudo-French friends. We also wanted to take advantage of already being in that part of town. Ending the first week of camp was pretty much a convenient excuse for a little extra fun with friends. So, zoo day! The temp being darn near 110 meant we had the zoo (and the splash park) pretty much to ourselves.

The kiddos, at the first exhibit. The animals, understandably, were not very active. They sought shade where they could, as did our children.

 Luckily, there was plenty.

Nicco played tour guide with his key to the info boxes. He only got slightly annoyed that everyone didn't listen to the entire mini-lecture at each habitat.

The tiger pretty much effectively summed up how every living creature at the zoo felt on this particular day.

 The peacock had his own method of cooling down as well.

We reached the splash park just in time. We nearly melted into oozy puddles of sticky flesh and sweat.

Sweet relief...

Aaahhh...

And, on to the next habitat. I love how open our little zoo is and how close you feel to all the animals.

The recently upgraded elephant exhibit is the best part. There is an informative and interactive wall with everything you could ever want or need to know about elephants, as well as some creative elephant art using recycled materials:

Supposedly you can make this elephant bum fart, but try as they might, our boys were unsuccessful at eliciting any noise.

We walked along the paths and Nicco and Ryan climbed upon the little elephant statue. They couldn't help it. A climbable statue. Must. Climb.

Eventually, we made our way to the actual elephants. The last time we were here, they were all playing and splashing in the water. This time, we just got a back view of the big guy. The only action we saw was him defecating. Although, his fifth leg was intriguing. "What's that between his legs?" one of the children inquired. "That which you would expect to find between the legs of the male of the species," I answered.

The kids hopped and skipped along the small boulders on the path. I tried to get action shots. I mostly failed.

We stopped by the splash park to cool down again before checking out the remaining animals.

The kids were 95% good. There was only one very small moment where they became pesky, which was remarkable and admirable, considering it was a long and hot day.