Dallas Zoo

Our first big outing this summer was to the Dallas Zoo.  We picked Gram up at her house early in the morning, then caught the DART train which dropped us off right at the zoo entrance.  Riding the train was half the fun of the day!  We watched the conductor turn on the wipers when it started raining, Gram pointed out where Uncle Andrew works, and we saw where Daddy works, too.  And Sam liked when we went through the long, dark tunnel!  My favorite part was when we passed through downtown Dallas and got to see some of the tall buildings.

First stop at the zoo - the penguins!  Some were swimming, and some were posing for the camera!

The elephants were out today and very active.  They scratched against the rocks, chewed on a branch, and drank water with their trunks.  I could watch them all day.

Another animal we could have watched all day long - the giraffe.  This sweet little one walked over to us several times and even let Gram and I pet her knobby noggin.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch then had to find shelter under a patio umbrella while we waited out a quick sprinkle.  While we were waiting, Sam saw a tiny snail on a fence post.  The things he finds! 

Sam imitating a chimpanzee's "happy face".  Looks similar to Sam's own "hungry face"!

We found ourselves back at the penguin pool again and they put on a little swimming show for us.  

The flamingos were cool, as always, and after watching them stand on one foot and snooze for a while, we headed over to the reptile and amphibian house to take a look at all things slimy and slithery!  Sam darted all over this building.  He really enjoyed these animals.  We were all amazed at the size of the Burmese Python.  His tank was pretty dark so I don't have a picture, but wow, was he big!

We stopped by the macaws to gather our stuff before walking to catch the homebound train.  One of my animals made it all the way through the zoo, but my other one - the wilder animal of the two you might say - gave in to sleep toward the end.  The train ride home gave us all a chance to rest after our big day.  A wonderful first trip of the summer!