We took Will to the zoo today- his second trip, although I think the first he remembers. I really can't even bitch too much about the zoo charging for 2-year-olds, because he really did get a lot out of it. No surprise, but his favorite part was the Cat House- he kept asking if he could go pet the kitties. Actually, a few he wanted to take home, but in all fairness, at least those were the smaller ones. I tried explaining that they had sharp teeth. That just spurred more questions (I think his daily average is 67,001), but at least the various kitties stayed at the zoo with no protests. The highlight of the Cat House was seeing the "kittens". At about 4 1/2 months old, they're barely smaller than the mom, but they really do act like kittens- especially this wild heathen we've adopted. I swear, a jungle cat would probably be calmer, if not for the whole eating the rest of the cats thing (well, Misty might hold her own, or Dia, but the guys would be snacks).
Aside from the Cat House, the highlights were the elephants, the birds (the brighter the better, although the peacocks weren't co-operating), and the water. Yep, the water. Not the fish or turtles or anything else in the water, although they were all ok, but the plain, wet, everyday water. The same water that Will got tired of after an hour or so at the aquarium last week. He was more excited about going to the aquarium (the phrase "I don't wanna go to the zoo" came up several times), but he had a better time at the zoo. With the water. I don't understand kids.
There were 2 water highlights. The first was the orangutan playing with the garden hose (smart critter) to keep cool. I think Will recognized a kindred spirit, because we had to all play with the hose when we got home, at least until Tom got stung by a yellow jacket. The second water highlight was the Cool Zone, complete with overhead mist sprays and a very small wading pool with mist sprays and squirters for munchkins. The only way we got Will away from it the first time was to go see the Cat House and promise that he could come back and play in the water afterward.
Overall, it was a really fun trip. The place was crowded, but not so bad that you couldn't see the exhibits. It wasn't too insanely hot, plus the zoo has a nice mix of inside (air conditioned!) areas to break up the outdoor ones. Will was remarkably well behaved, even when he got hot and tired, and he was happy to be pushed around in the stroller for the longer treks (ie, most of the trip) as long as he could get out to see better if he wanted, and Tom was great about lifting him up. Plus, there was a nice surprise as we were leaving- the peacocks and peahens were all in the flowerbed by the exit with their chicks. Not sure if the chicks were male or female (they're all shades of brown right now), but they really are cute.