Up Up and Away

Up into the mountains (well, into the foothills anyway) and away to the zoo. What a wonderful morning. Somehow the smog has mostly cleared out of the valley and the high for the next few days is around 50. Isn't it ... a breath of fresh air? Yes, I heard about the weather & immediately left for the zoo. We're at a good zoo stage here - both kids can run around all they want, I don't really need to carry anyone - occasionally RAP, but mostly she walks everywhere. The animals were up and moving, stretching their legs. Our favorite was the gibbon - he was in his outdoor globe of a cage, and swinging around and making quite a racket. The shot of RAP is of her mimicking him. Here is a sample of the gibbon's antics:

We spent two hours wandering around, stomping in snow, enjoying the wildlife and the expensive zoo popcorn. I think Hogle Zoo is doing a great job with the animals. If you haven't been there lately, I recommend the new Asian Highlands exhibit - it houses the large cats and it's really spectacular. If you can catch the tiger taking a swim, you're a lucky soul. We also enjoyed the great apes. CTP took one look at the huge male organutan and said, "Oh Mom, isn't he adorable?" Hmmmm. Not too sure about that, but okay! RAP's comment was, "Pie!" Anyway, hallelujah for good weather. I don't know if you've picked up the subtle nuances from my previous posts, but I'm about sick of winter. Could you tell?