Today is my daughter and her husbands 5th wedding Anniversary.  They didn’t have daycare today so we said we’d watch their son for the day and evening so they could go out and celebrate their big day.  We were a little worried about taking care of the little man.  It has been 28 years since my baby was born and I can’t run very fast anymore ;).

We started off the day with a nutritious breakfast of scrambled eggs and some tangerines

Then we had a little play time

We were going to take him to Como Zoo.  Now, the last time we were there, our daughter was about his age, so it has been a few years to say the least.  So we packed up the little guy, made sure we had the essentials of diapers, wipes, toys, food, drink and the all important…..stroller, and off we went.  The Zoo opened at 10 so we wanted to arrive close to when they opened to avoid the crowds.  Yah right!  We got there at around 10:10 and the place was packed already!  Holy Smokes!  I have never seen so many strollers in one place in my life!  So much for avoiding the crowds.

We parked our car, got our Charge out of his car seat, got the goodie bag out, took the stroller out and then proceeded to examined the stroller.  Turning it this way and that.  How the heck do you get this thing to open?  Gary looked, I looked.  Come on!  We are two intelligent adults, we ought to be able to figure this out.  A YOUNG woman across the parking lot took pity on us and offered to help us.  Haha, she couldn’t figure it out either!  See, we aren’t so stupid after all :).  Oh look, there is another YOUNG woman with a stroller that looks practically like the one we have.  I called her over to help.  Haha!  She couldn’t figure it out either!  Finally I saw the strap!  Pull the strap and POP.  The stroller unfolded and was ready for use.  Who’s the old lady now huh?  Of course I didn’t want to rub their noses in it, after all, they did offer to help us, so we thanked them profusely and started our trek into the Zoo.

Of course after 28 years, the Zoo has changed a little.  So we were doing a little oohing and aahing as we walked around.  Unfortunately it was hotter than Hades that day, even at 10 in the morning, so we beat feet for the first indoor exhibit we could find.  We found they changed the building that used to house the monkeys into the entrance to the Zoo and it looked like it was connected to the Conservatory 

They also put these “ponds” ???? surrounding the building.  Pretty flowers!

The Conservatory doesn’t look like it has changed much.

We took a left after we left the Zoo entrance and headed for the new Monkey house.  Some of them were outside in the heat   Remember Clyde?

  These monkeys moved too fast for a good shot :(.  Oh look, this one has a beard! Nietahah, Snidely Whip Lash!  Remember that cartoon?

Their inside cages were pretty big, but I still felt sorry for them

Aaaah, isn’t THAT a picture? 

Here is a big Gorilla

Look!  He likes bumpers too 🙂

There was even a baby Gorilla

Cute as a button.  The next stop was the seal building.  Remember when they used to have the circular water ring outside with all the seals swimming around in it?  You could buy those smelly icky fish and toss them at the seals.  That didn’t look like it was in use anymore.  The only seal we saw was this one 

We saw some penguins there too 

These two look like they are planning their escape  See Harry, the door is only 5 feet away, you distract them and I’ll make a run for it ;).

The next stop was the Polar Bear building.  I remember when I was a kid, every Christmas Eve our Aunt and Uncle would take my brother and me for the day and before we went home we’d stop at Como Zoo and drive past the bears.  The Polar Bear would do the same thing.  He’d walk back and forth in his cage, stepping in the same spot each time he made his walk.  Here, this guy is doing the same thing, but in the water.  Back and forth he would swim 

I felt REALLY sorry for him.  Poor bear :(.  Of course the two boys loved itI suppose it is a big animal compared to the little guy.

Then it was off the to next air conditioned building, the tiger building.  First we saw the lions outside.  Even they were hiding in the shade trying to keep cool.  The tiger inside he had a really big spot, twice the size of this picture.  After we were done with the lions and tigers and bears, we were all tuckered out.  So we took a few more shots of animals on our way out….. a zebra and an antelope.  Everyone was hiding in the shade today.

Then a few more pictures of the “pond”.   Those are some humongous water lilies!  And one last pretty flower

So back to the car to see if we can get the stroller to break down again so it fits in the car. Lets see, hummm, pull the strap to collapse.  Walah!  See, I iz one smart Mema :).  But certainly not ready to start up a daycare.  Off for home we go…… for a nap for all of us ;).