Penguins for Uncles

Alex has been asking to go to the Akron Zoo since he was a little boy. He has always loved Penguins and as wonderful as the Cleveland zoo is, it does not have Penguins. His mom promised to take him, but never did. Then his older sister promised to take him and her children, but she too failed him. The poor boy graduated from high school and left Ohio for college without a trip to the Akron Zoo. On his way to BYU, he stopped at his sister's house in St. Louis and she saw a chance to redeem herself. Two Saturdays ago, we headed to the St. Louis zoo with Uncle Alex to finally take him to see Penguins.

While we were there, we decided to check out the Sea Lion show. We were in the second row, up close to the action. All of the children (and adults) LOVED the show.

I love the Cleveland zoo. Its location makes it easy to get in and out of, and the parking is easy and stress free. I had no qualms about driving there several times a month with the kids. We enjoyed our membership there for several years. The St. Louis zoo is a bit trickier to get to and parking is a nighmare. As a result we don't go near as often. I also loved the layout of the Cleveland Zoo and it was easy to see the whole zoo everytime we went, sometimes we could even fit the Rainforest in. But that being said, from a Conservation Biologist viewpoint, the St. Louis Zoo is a gem. The habitat for each animal is much more natural. My favorite part is the River Walk. I wish all zoos could be so true to the animals native habitat. Jacob's favorite part is all of the view posts for the elephants.

Bella and Pop-Pop wanted to ride the train all day. As we were leaving, we decided to give in and take them on the train ride. Jacob told everyone he saw the following week that he rode the train. Guess it was well worth the enjoyment he got from it. Oh, and Bella and Pop-Pop really enjoyed it too.



Since Saturday also happened to be Alex's B-day, we stopped at Bobby's on the way home and treated Alex to the best frozen custard. Alex's good friend Katie used to live in Maryville and was extremely jealous when she found out Alex had gone. It was one of her favorite places. Penguins and Bobby's, what more could he ask for on his B-day?



I forgot to mention we did all of this AFTER the first Super Saturday I was in charge of. When we got home, we ordered pizza and stayed up singing Karoake. Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED when I finally stumbled into bed that night.