Celebration at the Zoo

On Holly's actual birthday we have a tradition of spending the day together as a family, typically we head to the zoo or a children's museum. This year we chose the Point Defiance Zoo. The weather was a bit sketchy - clouds and rain. We took our chances though and headed across town and lucked out with wonderful weather! It did not rain one time the whole day we were at the zoo and in fact the sun peaked through in time for an out door picnic at the zoo.

We had a great time checking out the far side of the zoo that we normally do not hit - the birds, polar bears, walruses, sea otters and seals. They were all very active for us and we lucked out for a polar bear talk and feeding as well as a feeding and talk at the sea otter exhibit and the sea lions. As well, we caught the animal presentation they are practicing for the upcoming summer season and saw baby meerkats! It was such a wonderful day!

Sunshine Fun

The past few days have been filled with amazing weather, Spring is definitely here and we are loving it! Much of our time has been spent outside which included the zoo. We finally renewed our membership after much debate... we use the zoo a lot and would probably use it more with a membership. Choosing which institutions we want to be members of is a hard one, but we do have to make choices throughout each year - this year the zoo won! So, we took in a full afternoon of sunshine, playtime and animals.

The play area they have created is just wonderful, a favorite spot of ours. When we hit the zoo we must always spend some time if not half of our time in the play zone. They have created a wonderful physical space that encourages children to move like animals - climbing, hanging, jumping, running, sliding, shaking, etc. A different approach to play equipment and Holly adores it.

Each time we go to the zoo we check out a different area, as the whole zoo in one can be just a tad too much still. So, we split it down the middle and rotate out the aquarium. This day we enjoyed the Asian side with a visit to the elephants, tigers, monkeys, anoas, porcupines and river otters. The river otters were by far the hit of the day -- they were actually in a natural setting for them, a running river. First time we have seen them in that exhibit and they couldn't have been any happier, it was great! They were incredibly playful, energetic and adorable to boot.

And, then he was just beautiful - I couldn't resist!

Winter Zoo Day

Having some fun in the toy area!!!

Yesterday we decided to head to the zoo as we really wanted to get out side, move around some and do something as a family. So, we headed to the Point Defiance Zoo - which was really quiet... perfect! I almost feel like we had to the zoo to ourselves. We packed a nice hot lunch of soup, bread and a few snacks and headed out dressed warmly. The animals were pretty active for the most part or at least right where you can see them up close and personal - not the tiger.

The two parts that stood out though was the polar bear as it was so playful and active. It was wonderful to enjoy watching him for some time. But, the best natural part was the second tiger. He was pacing his area, over and over. Suddenly he stops and crouches down, into a stalking form. Well, if you looked over outside his cage you could see the tops of bamboo moving. We thought it must be a caretaker, however no one arrived. We waited and watched as this tiger continued to stalk that corner, hunkered down he slowly creeped over to the edge of his space and was ready to pounce.

So, we peeked to see exactly what he was doing this too, and it was a.... child!!! *yikes* Someone had misplaced their kid (about 5) and he was playing off the path in the bamboo patch near this tigers home and this tiger was full on stalking him wanting desperately to pounce I am sure. It was so natural and instinctual. While really cool it was a tad creepy too. Certainly made my day. We wandered over and I asked where his family was and he took off - we saw he was reunited, but what they didn't know is that their son was being stalked by a tiger. Eeek!

Anyhow, on to some photos:

Zoo Lights

Thursday night we headed on down to Zoo Lights at the local zoo - it was sooo nice! There was *nobody* there, honestly it was empty. Most likely not good for the zoo at all, but it was really nice for us as there were no crowds for anything at all, Woo Hoo!

We started out the night with a 'hot picnic' out or our car - which was fun! We arrived early after Bryan got off of work. I made a pasta dinner in our crock pot, some other goodies and packed our camping chairs. We parked on an end spot and set up shop - holiday music, christmas lights for enjoying, hot food on a chilly night - in the dark! It was fun and I think it will make for a neat tradition each year - a fun, unique way to go out.

Point Defiance Zoo does a wonderful job with designing the various light displays and the flow through their zoo. They eve have some animal displays still open for enjoyment, including the aquarium areas... one of Holly's favorites! Overall, we had a very nice night!

Beluga Whales

It's been busy around here -- Last weekend we had company in town which kept our schedules very full. We took in as much of our seasonal sun as we could enjoying dinners outside, eating out, going for a walk, visiting Anderson Island and the local zoo! Holly and I visit the zoo quiet often, our membership is well loved in this house! Many times we go though we tend to just hit the newer side of th zoo, play and head home. It's rare we see the other half and all it offers. Our guest in town enjoys sealife and especially whales -- so, our whole goal was to see these sorts of animals and the aquarium. It was such a treat!

The walruses were very active and fun, the sea otters were being fed and the puffins were being fed and super playful! It was wonderful! The best part though was the beluga whales!!! There are two of them and they were incredibly playful... incredibly! They were fun to view from above but when we slipped down below to the viewing window they came right over to where we were and began playing with some toys they had - right in front of us! It was amazing to see them so up close and having a good time! Holly was in awe to put it simple. We hung out there for about half an hour to enjoy them, take in their beauty and treasure the moment!