San Diego Zoo!

My family and I took a trip to San Diego to visit the Zoo:)

On our way to San Diego, we took the I-5 South, it is beautiful and a scenic route. We love seeing the Battleships as you pass Camp Pendleton. My son that is three is amazed by how big they are and every time we see the battleships, he cannot stop talking about how awesome they are. He goes on and on for several days. 🙂

When we arrived at the San Diego Zoo, we went to see the Polar Bears. Those are my daughter’s favorite. It was awesome having the opportunity to see the Polar bears up close and being playful.

We were uncertain where to venture off to next. A staff member overheard our conversation and she advised us to take the Tram Tour. Off we went to the tram which covers about 70% of the park. The tram tour guide educated us during the entire duration of the tour. He would stop so we could take pictures and get a closer look at all of the amazing animals we visited. We saw some birds, they seemed to be hiding from us. The Cheetah was beautiful and can run to speeds up to 70 MPH. That is fast!

There is Flamingo Lagoon that is about three acres where they have over 150 pretty and pink Flamingos. Did you know that when Flamingos have their heads under water, they are filtering the the water for the food that they eat? That is the same process that a whale uses.

Our next stop was the African environment where they have Savanna grass and over 150 exotic animals. We saw Eric and his mommy Lemmy who weighs 2,500 lbs. They are some of the many Black Rhinoceroses there. Our tour guide informed us that they look gray because they roll around in the dirt to help protect them from sun burns and insect bites. These Black Rhinos are the “skinny Rhinos of Africa”, only weighing half of what African White Rhinos weigh.

We saw the Elephants and where they get pampered/groomed it was cool. They kept putting their food on their heads while they were eating. Maybe they were hot and trying to make some shade for themselves!:)

The Pelicans were about six feet long and weighing up to thirty pounds, now that is a big bird! As we passed the white Antelopes, we learned they are known as the “ghosts of the Sahara”. They virtually do not have to drink water in their life-time; they get enough moisture in the foods they eat.

Our next stop was the bird sanctuary where they had many of African and Egyptian birds. Then came the Gazelles which looked to be tired and hot. Apparently which ever Gazelle is more dominating gets most access to the food and water.

Now we were at the Southern White Rhinos where we saw Chuck and he weighs over 5000lbs. He is in retirement after 20 years at the zoo. The Giraffes were so pretty and tall. Males Giraffes are taller than the girl Giraffes. They can see over a two miles span so they can inform others of their predators.

Finally, we saw buffaloes and learned they are capable of running at speeds up to 40 MPH, which is faster than a Lion. The Zebras are quite stunning with their black and white contrast appearance.

After our Tram Tour, we walked over to see my favorite animals; Pandas are so gorgeous. The mother had her back to us while she nibbled on her bamboo. The two babies were sitting facing us and eating their dinner (bamboo). They are so adorable.

There is so much I could say about visiting and so much to do at the San Diego Zoo. My family and I enjoyed our day of play and interacting with their beautiful animals.

This is definitely a great place to spend time out with your family and friends!