Trip to the Zoo

About a month ago, we had a wedding to go to in San Antonio.  We decided to make a little vacation out of it, and of course, we HAD to go to the zoo for our little animal lover.  We talked about it for weeks, and E was super excited to finally go, he even picked out a zebra shirt for the occasion.

Arriving at the zoo

Just inside the entrance, there is a statue of lions, and Ethan was pretty impressed with it.  I don't think he was aware that there were actual animals in the zoo.

"Hewo wion" That's Ethan-speak for "hello lion," who needs L's anyway.

The first animals we saw were flamingos.  He enjoyed watching this group, however, later on there was another display of flamingos that scared him, so now he claims he's scared of flamingos and their noise.

Checking out the flamingos with Nana

The animal Ethan wanted to see the most was a macaw.  Every time you asked him which animal he was going to see at the zoo, that was his answer.  There were supposedly macaws in this area, but we failed to spot a single one.  Thankfully, he was happy feeding the fish, and the picture of the macaw sufficed.

feeding the fish

We then watched the hippos from a gloriously air conditioned area (it was late August so were trying not to die).  I think these were my favorite.

Observing the hippos

We finally got to the African area with all the big attractions we knew Ethan would love.  The elephants were a highlight.  If it wasn't so hot, we probably would have let him watch them a little longer.

Elephants!

He liked watching the elephants

Okay, maybe I take back my favorite and give it to the zebras instead.  They are pretty cool animals, and of course Ethan was thrilled to see them outside of a book.

E in his zebra shirt, with Daddy, in front of the zebras

 We also saw lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), and then there were a TON of birds.  Birds get old quick, especially when they start freaking Ethan out.  We also checked out the reptiles and lots of fish, but he wasn't as impressed.

Up close and personal with the bird (some sort of eagle maybe?)

 There was a small petting zoo that grabbed his attention for awhile, but all they really had was goats.

Checking out the goats in the petting zoo

 Toward the end of our day, we discovered a toddler area with scheduled animal meetings, but by then we were all hungry and hot, so we visited a gift shop and decided to call it a day.

On our way out following the snake

 We left the zoo already wanting to take Ethan back, hopefully when it's cooler so more of the animals are active.  He had a great time though, and next time we'll be pros.  

One last kiss for the lion