Saedi and Gavin earned these from the county library, during the summer reading program.
Since I was so proud of them for earning the tickets, I wanted them to be able to use them. We didn’t seem to have time to go before, and today was the last day the tickets were still good. So, even though it was raining, we went to the Pt Defiance Zoo and Aquarium today. It was pretty fun and not at all crowded. We dug out all the rain gear and brought layers in case it was cold too. Gavin would wear his rain boots every single day if I let him. Saedi and Gavin both have their own umbrellas so it’s “fun” when they get to use them. I also have a pretty nice rain cover for the jogging stroller, so we were all set.
Going to the zoo in the rain really isn’t as bad as it sounds – most of the animal viewing areas are sheltered so you just walk between them under an umbrella, and the animals were active because it wasn’t hot or cold. Plus the umbrellas make for some fun photos.
It’s not a very large zoo but it’s still pretty good. We saw meerkats,
walruses,
sea otters,
polar bears (I love how these ones turned out! The photos are taken through the glass),
(The pictures are not as nice from here on out. I didn’t charge the battery for the new camera before we went, since it was sort of a last minute trip, and it died. So the rest are with the cell phone.)
river otters,
a barn owl,
elephants,
and gibbons. The gibbons were fun. The play area that they have has swinging handles all over the building part, including right in front of the viewing windows. They kept swinging over to look at the people, like we were there for them to watch and not the other way around! I had the stroller turned slightly away from the window and it seemed that the white one kept trying to see what was in it. Solvei and Nels loved watching them too, they would smile when the “monkeys” were swinging around.
And of course there was the aquarium, too. They have a Shark photo-op spot. Saedi asked if I would take their picture.
And then they waned to do a picture that loked like they needed to be rescued.
They of course have the obligatory display of “Nemo and Dory” fish.
They have a nice collection of sea horses too. I got one picture, but the cell phone couldn’t keep up with the movement in low light.
At least the kids would hold sill long enough to get pictures.
This aquarium has the most photogenic octopuses I have ever seen.