A City Zoo

On Monday I took Claire, Wesley, and Lydia to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.

This was our third visit and there are several reasons I love making an annual trip to the Maryland Zoo.

1. It is FREE with our FONZ membership.

2. There are different animals than at the National Zoo.

3. It is a lot less crowded.

4. Almost all of it is shaded.

5. The kids like it.

The zoo is divided into two sections: African Journey and Maryland Wilderness.

The baby elephant is about 16 months old. The chimpanzees were very playful on Monday. Up close with a giraffe. Wesley and Claire enjoyed feeding the giraffe but Lydia thought it was a little too close for comfort. The Maryland Wilderness includes a Children's Zoo. The kids brushed the goats. The silo slide in the barn was closed but the tree slide was open.The big excitement at the zoo was seeing a black rat snake in a tree above the path. One of the zoo workers got it out of the tree but she wasn't being very careful and the snake bit her at least twice. The kids had fun and they were so well behaved. Wesley and Claire jumped across the lily pads. We rode the carousel. I was proud of myself because I actually packed lunch for all of us. We ate our sandwiches, chips, and bananas at a picnic table in the shade.

I rewarded the children's good behavior with a treat. My kids chose popsicles.
At Base Camp Discovery, Wesley and Claire got to pet a king snake. The zoo "doesn't allow young children to touch the snakes because the snakes could carry salmonella." So Lydia was not allowed to touch it.

"Red and yellow, kill a fellow. Red and black, friend of Jack."
Lydia fell asleep right after we saw the polar bears so she missed seeing the praire dogs. She slept all the way home and Wesley also fell asleep in the car. Five hours at the zoo wore me out also.