A Day at the Zoo....

We had a great time visiting the New Orleans Zoo on Thursday, February 24th.  I'm not one to drive to New Orleans but this was a chance of a life time.  With a group rate of $3.00 a person through our Home school group, we drove the 2 1/2 hours starting at 8am, and spent the whole day.
The New Orleans Zoo is organized by continent with different hands on activities in between. It was very impressive. We got to pet a baby alligator, an elephant, a gecko and at the petting zoo area there were goats and sheep.  Peter had a great time.  So did everyone else.

 I think South America was my favorite.  There were replications of some of the Mayan ruins, which I love.  The anteater was a strange looking creature and the spider monkeys could hang by just their tails.  Very interesting.  There were thousands of ducks towards the back of the zoo and also a authentic replication of the Louisiana swamp with an old house and general store from the 1920s.

There were lots of birds every where (besides the ducks) and there were sea lions in a big pool area that we watched for a while. You could go down stairs to see them through the glass, underwater and one of them was teasing us as he kept swimming through the passage upside.  It was really fun.

The giraffes were awe inspiring as they are sooooo tall.  It is amazing and the theme of Jurassic Park ran through my head as I watched them walk from one end of their enclosure to the other. So graceful with their long necks.  There was one orangutan that saw us eating crackers and cheese and stuck his hand out wanting us to share with him.  Too funny.
 
After our safari through, Africa, Asia, South America and Australia, we took a ride on the trolley down St. Charles Street, to see the sights there.  Talk about a safari in the city.  It was crazy.  It didn't help that it was the day before Mardi Gras was to start and everyone was getting ready for the two week parade stint that happens every year.  We ended up staying on the trolley until the end of the line at Canal Street then getting off the trolley and getting right back on for the return trip to our car.  It was really fun.  A whole tour of the city in an hour and a half. We made it home at 8pm.  A twelve hour trip.