San Diego Zoo

This is Hattie's adventurer pose :)

So this may be a little bit of a picture overload, but it was such a fun day at the zoo. We seriously spent over 9 hours covering every inch of the San Diego Zoo. It was a fantastic day, and It seriously almost brought tears to my eyes seeing the excitement in the girls faces. The only thing missing was Mitch, it really made me sad that he wasn't there with us, and totally had me looking forward to our trip to South Carolina later this month so he can have all these experiences with the girls. `

We started right away with the bus tour. I had read that it was the best way to see the zoo and map it all out. And it was! We got to see so many animals right off the bat. The girls thought it was a blast, and we were there early so we beat the crowds. It also kind of gave us a chance to look at the guide and figure out what shows/talks were where so we could map out our day.

We started out in the kids park, the girls enjoyed the petting zoo, and we moved on from there. The Polar Bears were a favorite, and the Koalas! We don't have them in St. Louis or Decatur, so the girls thought they were great. We loved seeing the Snow leopard and while we were walking through there was one on one of the overheard bridges pacing back and forth. He was ready to POUNCE on something, but thankfully the gate was locked! But still, the girls got a kick out of watching him moving back and forth.

Around that time we were nearing the gondola's. The girls remembered the gondola rides we took in Salt Lake City, so they HAD to do it. And it was the perfect time to take a trip back to the entrance of the park...it was lunch time. Hattie rode with Ellen, and Leah and Kiersten rode with me. Leah was acting all nervous but I think she secretly loved it. After a quick lunch, we kept on trekking. We saw the giraffes and the elephants. And took a small break for a 4-D movie, Ice Age. The girls loved it! They laughed and laughed, and got a big kick out of the water and the shaking chairs. And then we visited the Pandas. The line was long, and we waited quite a while but they were well worth the wait! They were so adorable, and we actually saw one climb a tree and then take a seat and have a snack. They were a big hit! The girls each got a souvenir snow globe. Off to La Jolla Cove tomorrow for another day at the beach!