Zoo with Jude & Eli - Africa

August 17 was the first Monday that Rachel had free so we decided to make a play date and head down to the North Carolina Zoo. In case you hadn't already noticed - I LOVE the zoo. I love how happy it makes my children. I love how much walking you get it. I love how shady it is. I love how Monday mornings aren't crowded at all. I love all the space that the animals receive at this zoo. I love how there isn't just one of each animal, but many, at this zoo.

And while this trip was a scorcher and extremely humid, we made the most of it and saw a lot of really cool things. Every time I come here, I always learn something new and it seems magical all over again. This time we saw all the baby lion cubs all grown up.

The baby monkeys came right to the window and played with the children who were watching/observing them. They knocked on the window and the kids all squealed with delight. So the  chimpanzee would repeat the process all over again.

I saw millions of birds that I had never seen before. For some reason, I'd never made it to the aviary section of the zoo. Maybe that's because Michal hates birds. Maybe it's because I'd been oblivious to it being there, but inside it was full of colorful and interesting birds that you could reach out and touch. Of course, if you did they would run away or bite back. So we just remained good little observers.

We  saw an elephant decide to take a bath. But instead of just spraying his back and legs with the help of his trunk, he decided to completely wade into the water and lie down. All you could see sticking out of the water was his little trunk so he could breathe. I've never seen this before and I found it fascinating.

Apparently two weeks ago there was a huge storm at the zoo and it knocked over thousands of trees and damaged a lot of structures and animal enclosures - so the "Africa" side was closed. It reopened two days before we got there but we could see the effects of the storm still. The misters by the elephants were all damaged. Some viewing decks had to be rebuilt. And many pathways were still inaccessible due to trees needing to be cleared from the road.

The next time we go to the zoo, I'll try to do something different - like feed the Giraffes, take a carousel ride, see the dinosaur exhibit, or buy a magnet from this zoo. Oh the possibilities!