Monday, May 04, 2009

When All Else Fails, Go to the Zoo

Yesterday one of Bobby's old friends came into town for a visit. He brought along his two young daughters. While visiting he decided ,let's all go. I was eager for the diversion. So were Brad and Aryn. So Bobby and I got in his car and led the way while Pat (not my son Pat) piled the kids all in his car and off we went.

I have to say that I was impressed with the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. It is not the biggest I have seen but it is very nice. We got there just as it opened so there were not that many people to that point in time.It was pretty quiet and the weather was cool which made the walk around pleasant.The zoo has a good assortment of the usual animals, lions, tigers, bears, rhinos, elephants, and bird, We found it funny that some birds were captive while we could look up and see others of the same type outside the net. Wonder what those birds thought? Of course the colorful jungle birds were pretty, but so were the two bald eagles.

Aryn really liked the giraffes but was disappointed that we did not see any zebras. The black bears were hiding apparently too as were the playful otters. I thought the meerkats were cute. The male lion was taking his usual nap. Then the kids found the button. The zoo "lion's roar" sound effect that kids just love.

A lot of the exhibits featured Texas and local area wildlife. A lot of fish and snakes were part of this. I don't even remember how many different rattlesnakes we saw. Not my favorites, wonder why?

I was intrigued at how well the zoo was incorporated into the natural flora and fauna of the Waco area. The kids raced all over the place. Me, I found the walk around the grounds actually very peaceful. The grounds were well kept and filled with local wild flowers and plants. Several spots along the walk around the zoo had waterfalls. I'm a sucker for the sounds of waterfalls. Everything just seemed to be so natural there.

I have to say that I think Waco's zoo is a very nice place to visit.Now if we could just get the bears and otters to co-operate... I don't know about Aryn though, she still wants to see the zebras. Well at least she wasn't followed around by a turkey like I was. Honest buddy, I really don't need you to follow me from one end of your enclosure to the other. Really.

4 comments:

cube said...

Sounds like you had a nice day. OK, except for the turkey part, but I guess all of us have been pursued by a turkey or two ;-)

Dr.John said...

Somewhere a poor Turkey misses you.

pineapple said...

i haven't stopped by in a long time -- sounds like a nice trip to the zoo (except for that thing with the turkey). next time, i recommend the dr. pepper museum because it is turkey free!

Bazza said...

Sounds like a really nice zoo, I'm sure me and wifey and the kids would have loved it.