The World Famous San Diego Zoo

Thursday morning Andrew woke up at 6:30, which is early for him, but I am sure it was because his body was telling him it was really 8:30. I say that because I am typing this blog entry at 8:20 a.m. California time on Friday and everyone is still sleeping :)

We had a grand ambition to be at the zoo by 9:00 a.m., but somehow trying to get 3 adults and 2 children out the door and fed took a lot longer than anticipated. We finally made it to the zoo at 12:30!

Back to the morning though ... I went for a run along the water front which was so refreshing. The morning was crisp and clear - just beautiful! The San Diego bay is quite a site to see early in the morning. Then, after everyone showered and got ready to go we decided to have a big breakfast to keep us full at the zoo. We went to Denny's for their 15 minutes or it's free weekday breakfast, hoping that we would be in and out quickly ... breakfast was good, but not quick and needless to say our breakfast was indeed free!

So, as I said, we finally made it to the zoo at 12:30 and spent the rest of the day (until closing time at 6:00) exploring the zoo. Andrew really enjoyed seeing the elephants and the giraffes. One of the neat things about the San Diego zoo compared to other zoos we have visited is that the animals are really close to you, which really makes a difference in the whole zoo experience.

The boys at the zoo entrance

Koala

Andrew with ???

Elephant

Andrew not wanting to pose for a photo (doesn't it look like the elephant's trunk is going to get Andrew?)

Andrew was having a grand ol' time running around at the zoo, hopping in and out of his stroller at the various exhibits to see the animals, until we got to the giraffes. He loved looking at the giraffes, but when it was time to move on to the next exhibit he was running around and fell and scratched his face between his nose and his lip. Poor thing! I had a first aid kit with me, so we cleaned his knees and face with the alcohol pads and used tissues to stop the bleeding. He was a trooper, especially through the alcohol! After we got him all cleaned up, he decided he was ready to take a well deserved nap in the stroller. He napped for the majority of the remainder of the time we spent at the zoo. We kept exploring until 5:00 or so and then we hit the gift shop.

Andrew loves giraffes

Baby Giraffes

Baby Giraffe

Mom Mom with the Boys (right before Andrew's fall)

Andrew napping after his fall (check out that boo boo under his nose!)

Zoo flowers

Peacock on the loose

Gorilla

Bear

Cat

Orangutan

Orangutan 2 ... oops, I mean Doug

My super cool husband

Flamingo

Andrew woke up and was feeling pretty miserable - his lip and nose were a bit swollen and he was just not a happy camper. We picked up some souvenirs and tried to make Andrew happy, but it was pretty clear we needed to get him some Motrin to ease the pain. I offered to get him anything he wanted at the gift shop, but he kept asking for his "basket" and we had no idea what he was talking about. He told us that he lost it - still no clue what he was talking about??? After searching the gift shop for this "basket" that he wanted to no avail, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. We stopped off at a pharmacy and got Andrew Mortrin and Neosporin, which thankfully, really helped to make him feel better quickly.

We freshened up at the hotel and then went to dinner at a local seafood place called Anthony's. Dinner was excellent, both boys were well behaved and the waitstaff was so friendly and nice. It was just a lovely evening. We made it back to the room after 10:00 p.m. and I could barely keep my eyes open. Another long, full day!

We are having a wonderful time!