Oregon Zoo

The one thing I really really really really reeeeeaaalllllyy wanted to do on this trip was go to the Oregon Zoo. As kids my parents took us there frequently and I have lots of wonderful memories and I want to share those with my kids. Last time we went to the Oregon Zoo Jack was about 5 months old and Emilie wasn’t even on the radar. Needless to say we were more than due for another trip. Saturday was looking promising weather-wise so we decided to just go for it!

Despite morning showers at my folk’s house the weather at the Zoo held out. It was cool and overcast, but it didn’t even sprinkle until just as we left. I had the telephoto lens on the camera to try and take some nice animal shots so getting people pictures was a bit tricky because I had to stand waaaaaaay back. Still I got some half decent ones.

New to me was the Predators of the Serengeti exhibit. It was still under construction during or last visit. I must say I was impressed. With the large plexi-glass windows it feels like you really are up close and personal with the animals…..especially the lions. I wasn’t quite comfortable with the way the big male was eyeballing Jack. It looked as though he though Jack would make a tasty tidbit and it was a bit disconcerting…..

Jack himself, preferred two other animals: Polar Bears and Spider Monkeys. It was his first time seeing a Polar Bear outside of his Blue Planet DVD’s. He’s been quite fascinated with them. So much so that when we drove over the Blue Mountains enroute and we saw snow he got upset that we wouldn’t stop and let him out to look for Polar Bears. So when we saw the big white bears at the zoo, and they were playing ball (another favorite Jack pastime), he was more than a little excited.

His other favorite, the Spider Monkeys, we do have at our local zoo. I think the attraction there is that at Zoo Boise the Spider Monkey exhibits is bounded on one side by a large tube slide. The kids can go up walk across a catwalk while face to face with the monkeys, then go down the slide. Plus the Spider Monkeys always seem to be active, and let’s face it, they are darned cute!

Emilie enjoyed the monkeys as well. She also appeared to enjoy the penguins. Pretty much anything that moved around a lot caught her eye.

 

All around it was a great day. Since Emilie’s 1st birthday is only a few weeks away we had a little party for her when we came home from seeing all the animals. Complete with cake, hats, and everything. I guess you could call it her First Birthday practice party. Below is the Winne the Pooh cake Granny and I made along with a cake shot.