Snooze at the Zoo

Earlier this month our friend JJ took LuLu and Junie to Snooze at the Zoo, an overnight campout at the Milwaukee County Zoo. 

They had a good time, despite the heat, and all hands reported rave reviews of the dinner spread LOL

YaYa takes her Grandpa to the Zoo

YaYa took her Grandpa to the zoo today all by herself for some one on one time.

The Zoo on Father's Day 2016

     On Father's Day after I opened my gifts, I wanted to take the family to the zoo. Due to the heat and general apathy, only LuLu and Ginger decided to go with me. In some ways it was far better that way: less pressure to make it a "memory", less personality conflicts, less $$ out of my pocket. 

     That last point was my favorite. 

   

 Just about as soon as we arrived we hit the big cat house to see the lions and whatnot. 

Then, with extra cash unexpectedly in my wallet, I let the girls go on the sky glider. 

I promised this worker internet immortality. 

The big hit of the day, to my surprise, was the reptile and fish building. Not because, as they claimed later, of the air conditioning, but because they both seemed genuinely fascinated with each exhibit and actually interacted with one another.

The primate house was a disappointment, not the least of which because this guy threw poop at the glass.

In the primate house was a device to measure your grip strength in relation to that of an orangutan. I topped out at 85 pounds per square inch (I think that was the measurement standard), and 70 with my left hand.

By that time my hip was hurting, and so was Ginger's ear (her tube is working its way out), so it was time to leave. We still stopped and saw the bears and elephant before hitting the road. 

It was a blast. Thanks LuLu and Ginger!

The Racine County Zoo - August 24th 2008

As a last hurrah to finish the summer we decided to visit a zoo in the neighboring county of Racine. Despite its proximity to us we'd never been there, no doubt because the Milwaukee zoo dwarfs it in size and publicity.

Mind you, there was almost nothing to blog about because the first five minutes in the zoo were absolute HELL. The kids were fighting with each other, throwing tantrums, crying, talking back, etc. I specifically remember LuLu planting herself on the ground and refusing to move.

Enough was enough. We packed them all up and began the drive home. We made it about 10 minutes before the kids regrouped, apologized en masse, and asked to have a second chance. They didn't deserve one, but frankly I was miffed at the idea of my money having gone to waste so we gave it one more go (we'd been stamped out when we left, so readmission was free)

Racine's zoo is much smaller than Milwaukee's but much prettier; less industrial, with more attention to hardscaping and plantings. It's quite beautiful.



There was a definite shortage of animals when we went, as several exhibits were closed for remodeling, but the ol' favorites were there: giraffes, monkeys, etc.







We strolled along the lakefront



and we visited the petting zoo.







Along the way we got some cute pictures of the kids. They were very well behaved in round 2, probably because we sprung for a three seat stroller.











and a cute pic of yours truly



I said the kids were well behaved the second time around, and they were. But at the lion cage Smiley intentionally tossed his empty soda bottle past the fencing and into the 'no man's land', then tried climbing out to it. Crazy kid.

A mixed grade on the day, but overall enjoyable.