What actually happened: Since we missed the zoo on Thursday and went to the Alamo instead, we decided to go to the zoo on Saturday morning before we left town. We were awakened very early that morning by the sounds of thunder and hard rain. We searched for the weather on TV and saw that the storms were passing over, but the day was expected to be cold, cloudy, and windy. We decided to try it anyway.
After 3 long days of going and walking and riding and walking some more, we had two very tired little ones who had a hard time getting started, especially with the rain and cold weather. But they were determined to go to the zoo!
The weather forecast was right. It was so cold and very windy....which definitely kept the crowds away! But it also meant very few of the animals were outside. We braved the cold, leaped at every chance to see an animal indoors, and even rode the train afterwards. To Jacob's HUGE disappointment, however, there were no zebras. Really? Who ever heard of a zoo with no zebras?? The whole time we were planning the trip, he was more excited about seeing the zebras than anything else. I was so sad for him. And sad that we had chosen the zoo over the wildlife ranch, as I know there were zebras there.
I know all zoo pictures are the same....I'm reminded of that every time we go to a zoo and I come home with a ton of pictures that look the same as all my other zoo pictures! But you know I have to share just a few....
Look at the hippo behind Kloe and Jacob....yep, he's real! He never opened his eyes, but would raise up every few minutes to stick his nose out of the water and get a breath. Then he would slowly sink back down into the water, and every few seconds bubbles would come out of his nose. The kids thought that was really funny. :)
With Kloe's new-found passion of bringing fresh water to people in Africa, we loved this sign that we saw in the Africa Live exhibit....
One thing we love about the zoo is the chance to marvel at the HUGE variety of animals God has created! We love thinking about Him painting stripes on a zebra, splashing color on a Lorakeet, stretching out the neck of a giraffe or the trunk of an elephant. Look at the funny ears on this little creature. They crack me up! Can't you just imagine the fun He had coming up with this?
And one of the absolute coolest things we saw at the zoo was the butterfly exhibit. Since the weather was so cold, the butterflies were dormant, and were just sitting perfectly still in the trees and on the flowers. They almost looked fake, as they didn't fly around or move at all. Perfect for taking pictures. They were so beautiful!
Ready for the (freezing cold) train ride....
We got home very late Saturday night (actually Sunday morning), and slept most of the day Sunday. I'm so glad we planned to come home a day early so that we didn't have to get up and get ready for school and work the next day!
On a side note from Day 3's recap....look who we will be missing at Sea World in May. :(
Lessons we learned from our trip:
1) We have decided NOT to go to any touristy spots during spring break ever again! We have even said that for our next family vacation, we will go during school and just take the kids out. Really, it would be worth it.
2) Pack warm clothes, even if the forecast shows nothing but sunshine and warm temps!
3) Expect everything to cost more than you had planned.
4) Expect everything to take longer than you had planned.
5) Next time we will be sure to schedule in more down time....and time for Jacob to swim. :)
We did have a very fun trip - even though we had to be flexible with our plans - and it was great to get out of town with the kids. We never did get to eat at my beloved Casa Rio....and we missed going through the Wildlife Ranch....and we want to take the kids to Schlitterbahn....so it looks like we'll have to go back!
Thanks for hanging in there with me through this long and disjointed update. Sorry it took me so long...I'm done now! :)
Too bad for the cold weather and rain but I'm sure your kids will think back to this vacation with fond memories. I still think about your Family Night pics when you told them where you're going and how excited they were.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about Casa Rio - such a bummer that you couldn't go there.
Hey, I know a zoo that has some zebras :) Come to DC and I'll show you!