Going to the Zoo Tomorrow

One of Lev's favorite songs is "Going to the Zoo Tomorrow."  We sing it a lot and watch the video.  Lately he has been asking me if I plan to take him to the zoo tomorrow, so I decided we should go today.  The two zoos near us let adults in for a discount on the first Saturday of the month, plus the weather was supposed to be cool and sunny, plus he's been asking and asking and asking.  We went and had a great time.  We saw zebras, giraffes, and kangaroos.  But from the moment we entered, Lev was totally focused on seeing the gorillas.  I don't know if he remembered them from last time (more than a year ago!) or if we had talked about them or what.  Somehow, he knew there were "monkeys" and couldn't wait to get to them.

But first a stop at the silly picture wall where we turned our child into a chicken.

We finally arrived at the gorilla enclosure.  Lev was a bit frightened about the dark tunnel-like entrance and the loud, rushing waterfall.  Then he was definitely taken aback by the giant hairy creatures on the other side of the glass.  He looked a little, but mostly wanted to get away.  Then we saw the baby.  The baby gorilla is almost exactly the same age as Lev and probably about the same size.  It is very cute and rides around on the backs of the other gorillas.  Lev enjoyed watching it play, but more he was intimidated by the big gorillas.

To put a cherry on top, one of the adult gorillas got tired of the paparazzi and charged the glass, slapping it with the back of his hand and making it boom and shake.  So that was it for Lev in the gorilla enclosure.  We scuttled out with whimpering, quivering lips and cuddled on a bench for a long few moments.

 We wandered around a little more, then headed out to get some lunch.  Just as the song says "Driving in the car getting sleep, sleep, sleepy 'cause we have stayed all day."  It wasn't long before Lev was snoozing.

He got a good little nap as we fought traffic and was happy and hungry when we stopped at the new taco stand by MIT.  A fantastic outing!