Seeking Mangos and Camelas

The kids had the day off school last Tuesday so I took the day off too and we zipped down to St. Louis to see the zoo. It was wild.

It was also free, which makes me very happy. Of course, if you want to ride the zoo train or see the children's section or any of the extra attractions you have to pay a small fee, so they get you there, but the package tickets weren't too bad. We took advantage of the train ride right away to get the lay of the land. Paxton was on the lookout for some "mangos" and "camelas." It took us a while to figure out what he meant.

Toot, toot!

Andrea was in charge of the camera and took lots of pictures. I picked out a few notables, including this fine looking rhino.

And a hippo, happily bobbing about in his pond.

We did a lot of this. I wish I'd had a pedometer on me - it felt like we walked to Chicago a back.

The elephants are always neat to watch. That trunk is fascinating.

At the children's section, there was a place where the kids could go into the goat pen and pet the, well, kids.

Anthony brushes the coat of one of the friendly critters.

Anya had to chase down each one, but then would only poke at it tentatively before running off to look for the next.

The butterfly house was packed with colorful flutteries, including this one which, ironically, is black and white.  

The bears are always a favorite. I think it's because they always look so soft and cuddly, like this sun bear. The claws look neither soft nor cuddly, however.

We about froze in the penguin house. These Emperors looked pretty comfy.

Ah yes, one of the attractions that the Safari Adventure package included was a ride on the carousel. Paxton rode a cheetah, Anya a flying hippo, and I tried not to get dizzy.

"Mangos, mangos, pink fuhmangos!" Now where are the camelas?

Here's a chimp."Kenrick, do you think he looks a little like Uncle Sam?"

The Littles get up and personal with Mr. Orangutan. More than one person commented on similarity between the color of his fur and Paxton's hair. Turns out the orangutan's name was Rob.

The sea lion tunnel is new to the zoo. We held our breath, but it didn't break.

A couple of the gorillas were feeling frisky. Either that or the little brother was pestering his bigger sibling. Against teeth like that I think I'd be a little more respectful.

Finally, the "camelas!" Paxton was quite happy to see them; I'm not exactly sure why.

Anya spotted the "zeebas" in the next pen over. I'd much rather look at zeebas than at camelas.

The big cats were next to the zeebas, but not too close. This big boy looks soft, but definitely not cuddly.

The 'King of the Jungle', chewing on a T-bone.

One of the last stops for the day included a swing through the reptile house. I don't know if anyone has read the kid's book, "Verdi" about a little tree python who doesn't want to grow up, but this relaxing snake reminded us of him.

Time to go home to our own little zoo.