A rainy day at the Houston zoo

On Monday Douglas took the day off and we packed up the boys and went to the zoo. We got there in the late afternoon on an overcast and drizzly day. I was pretty disappointed at first because it seemed like all of the animals were hidden away and/or sleeping. Andrew really wanted to see the elephants and of course not one elephant was out the first time we passed their exhibit. I told Douglas that it was not wonder it only cost $8.50 to get in to the Houston zoo as compared to the $33.00 it costs to get into the San Diego zoo (which we will be visiting in 2 weeks!!!).

We finally stumbled across a Jaguar that was being really playful which was entertaining for Andrew, and after that a lot of the animals came out to play, so to speak.

We decided that the animals had to put on a 5 o'clock show! Andrew liked the cats - the Jaguar and the Tigers. The lions were being lazy and sleeping the afternoon away. Ditto for the bears. The monkeys seemed to love the weather - go figure, since they normally live in places like rain forests! The orangutans were also putting on quite a show. Do you know the difference between a monkey and an ape? Apes do NOT have tails and monkeys do!

This is Doc -- he weighs in at 289 pounds and he is protective and observant. Here is watching Kelly and Solaris play. Note in the next photo when Solaris and Kelly approach he takes off!

Kelly and Solaris (and Doc taking a hike)

Anyhow, after leaving the primates area we went back by the elephants and one elephant was nice enough to grace us with his presence, which was enough to make Andrew happy. Although, by this point Andrew was pretty tired since we did not give him a nap all day.

Side note - Andrew is particularly fond of elephants because Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Playhouse Disney always has some sort of baby elephant in the cartoon. The latest has a baby elephant stuck in a tree and Mickey Mouse and friends use a Mouseketool (every episode features tools that Mickey can use to help solve his problems and they are referred to as Mouseketools) -- peanuts -- to entice the baby elephant to come down. They sing a catchy little song "shake, shake, shake your peanut - baby elephant come down the tree. Shake, shake, shake your peanut - baby elephant come play with me." Andrew just loves it!

Can you imagine this elephant in a tree? Ha! Andrew did sing the "Shake your peanut" song which was quite cute. The Houston zoo does have a new baby elephant but he did not come out to play! :(

Can't you see the excitement on Andrew's face? The blanket is covering Tyler from the occassional rain drops.

So, after the elephants we said hello to the giraffes and then checked out the aquarium and said hello to the Nemo fish (clown fish).

This giraffe looks like J Lo!


All in all it was a great trip to the zoo. Tyler slept the entire time in the Ergo carrier. The zoo was pretty deserted and the weather was cool ... this was not a typical day at the zoo at all! The trip to the zoo did get me really excited about our upcoming trip to San Diego - I think Andrew will love the San Diego zoo. We will definitely go first thing in the morning to catch the animals before their afternoon siesta and so the boys will be rested and happy.

The countdown to Disneyland is on too!