North Carolina Zoo

We decided to play hooky from church and take the kids to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro.  We get free admission with our membership to the Fort Fisher Aquarium, so we wanted to take advantage of that and take the kids on their first real trip to the zoo.  We took them to the Cleveland Zoo when they were about 18 months old.  They weren't very aware of the animals at that time, but this time was definitely different.

It takes a little over an hour to drive to the zoo from our home, and we were all eager to stretch their legs.  The zoo gives ample opportunity for this, because everything is very stretched out.  We definitely got some good use out of the Ergo and the double BOB that day.

We started out in Africa and really just touched on many of the exhibits.  We knew that our time was limited due to nap times, but we wanted to get a good taste of the zoo before we headed back for the van.  Our first stop was the elephants.

The kids really liked the helicopter that would be used for observing and tracking elephants in the wild.  Miles is very, very into all things mechanical - diggers, dump trucks, helicopters, airplanes, lawnmowers.  He loves them all.

Vivienne is really into carousels right now.  She thoroughly enjoyed riding her zebra with Daddy at her side.  Miles was all smiles.

Over on the North America side of the zoo, we enjoyed watching the polar bear play with his ball and enjoy a swim on a hot day.

The kids were also enchanted by a neat little playground on this side of the zoo.  Of course, we wanted to move the show along, because we have playgrounds in Cary but not exotic animals.
 

Our little Spiderwoman climbed all the way to the top of this net.  She is very coordinated, and she is fearless.  

And apparently she inherited my calf muscles...

By far, the biggest hit of the day were the otters.  The kids were pretty exhausted by this point, and they laughed uncontrollably at the playful otters who swam by the window again and again.  Even when their laughs are more from their delirious exhaustion, it's still fun to hear them cackle.

Evelyn spent most of the day in the Ergo or in the BOB.  She was very patient and seemed to enjoy more exciting surroundings.  She was also glad when we finally got back to the car.

We left the zoo around 1 pm.  Surprisingly, the kids (including Evelyn) stayed awake for the entire car ride home.  We stopped to get gas on the way back, and I bought them each a milk shake, which was a rare treat (at least from me... Grandma keeps them well supplied with sweet treats).

It was a fun day exploring a new place, and we look forward to returning soon so that we can see all the animals that we missed this time.