During the first official week of summer break my sister-in-law and I took our kiddies on a last minute trip to the zoo. Just a week prior a new exhibit had opened there - Rocky Shores. The zoo was most definitely crowded but we were happy with the visit nonetheless as we got a good view of all the new animals in their impressive habitats. The bald eagles were happily perched in a good spot to be viewed, the river otters and harbor seals kindly entertained us in their underwater viewing areas, two of the three the young grizzly bears were out wandering around (the third was sleeping in a windowed den), the harbor seals swam around their aquarium/exhibit and passed the window where we sat again and again, and the polar bear did a bit of swimming (we caught a glance of her in the underwater viewing area) and sauntered around her habitat. However, I think the favorite animal of the day was Big Guy, an 850 pound California Sea Lion. He's positively enormous, cute as can be, and completely blind. To read or see his story, click here. Apparently he's very social and tame (he has to be as he's hand-fed every meal). He sticks to one area of the habitat he shares with the harbor seals as he gets used to his surroundings. I know he could easily squish the life out of me but I really wish I could give him a great big hug!
We did peruse the rest of the zoo as usual and got to see the giraffes up close and a silly orangutan that held a blanket or sheet over his head wherever he climbed and roamed. At the end of our trip we went on the train and for the first time ever, the kids sat on the very end row of the back car. It actually faces out...the kids were tickled to be in such a special seat!
Note: In the picture of the kids standing in front of the big viewing glass, you can see the body and tail of a harbor seal at Hudson's knee level. I failed to get a picture of Big Guy (imagine me frowning).
Next time we go, I'm shooting for going at the end of the day when crowds are heading home - just before the gates close (about 90 minutes before the park closes). Hopefully it'll allow us to get more quality viewing time at Rocky Shores!
P.S. I just remembered that a zookeeper heard me call to my boy one time and told us that one of the harbor seals is named Hudson! If you ever go there, he's the darkest one (a medium-dark gray with dark spotting).
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