Snapshots From Our Vacation~ Pt. 3: Trip to the Zoo!

On our last day in Kentucky, we were privileged to be able to visit the Louisville Zoo with PaPa and Grandmother, Aunt Diana, Aunt Joy, and cousins Max and Livy.  The weather was delightful, and we were able to see in person many animals that we would probably never have the opportunity to observe in the wild.

There was a huge crowd at the ticket office, and we were concerned we might have to wait in line for a long time, but a little research in the parking lot revealed that it would actually be cheaper for us to get a 1 year pass, and since the passes are sold at a separate office, we were able to bypass most of the crowd.

Thank you, Lord!

Waiting outside the gate.

Inside the Zoo at last.

Your's truly...  Savana got a surprise shot here!

Look who we met up with:  cousins!

The penguin exhibit. 

Checking out the Komodo dragon.  (We had watched a documentary about Komodo dragons shortly before we left home, so everyone was interested to see one of these lizards in person.)

 We met some Floridians in the reptile section.

PaPa's new pet.

 Training volunteers for the monkey exhibit?

 This little wallabee was very friendly.  It was so neat to be able to pet him!

Goodbye!

 The leopard seal coming over to say hello. 

Getting ready for the seal training demonstration.

 This polar bear was probably the most entertaining animal we saw.

 Miss Francie was fascinated.

Then the grizzly bears appeared.  It was amazing to see these powerful creatures, even in a semi-domesticated setting.

Aunt Joy with Russell and Livie.

Everyone enjoyed watching the gorillas.  They were so funny!

We were almost in time to see the elephants taking their baths.  It was amazing to see how obedient they were, despite their huge size.

The rhinoceros, with Bo in front for perspective.  Sadly, since Mr. Rhino was so far away, you can't really see how huge he was.

And then everyone had a ride on the carousel.

Brushing up my riding skills in preparation for the next few days...

Checking out an amazing Lego sculpture.

And then we finished up with a ride on the Zoo train.  I sat with Emaline and Livy.

We had a wonderful day.  Aunt Joy said that she has almost never seen the animals so active.  We are very thankful to the Lord for blessing our trip!