Last weekend was absolutely beautiful and we decided that it was a perfect day for Brea's first trip to the zoo! Right inside the front gates at the New Orleans Zoo are the flamingos. The enclosure has glass panels and the birds are very close so we pushed the stroller up to the glass and Brea got a good look at the big Pink birds. Her little eyes were so big and she kept looking at us as if she were thinking..."Hey, do you guys see what I'm seeing".
When we got to the elephants Danny took Brea out of the stroller and held her so she good get a good look at them. She LEANED forward and put her little arm out as if she wanted to pet them! It was absolutely precious!!!
My favorite part of the entire day was watching Brooke and Baker introducing Brea to the zoo animals. They carefully pointed out the animals to her and explained what they were. The excitement in their eyes to be introducing Brea to a whole new world is something I will never forget. I knew that the kids would love Brea but they have totally amazed us with how much they love her and how sweet they are to her. We were very worried about Baker being jealous that he would no longer be the baby and a little worried that Brooke might be jealous that there would be another little princess in the house but they have both impressed us with their level of maturity and their love for their little sister.
You might be wondering about the condition of the zoo. It is really impressive how much they have done to bring the animals home and to get the zoo open again to the public. The majority of the animals were evacuated to other zoos before the hurricane. Many of the exhibits were damaged and some were destroyed. There are only a few that are still closed (sea lions, polar bears) due to damage but they are currently under construction. One thing that made us all a little uneasy was finding out that the bayou exhibit was not evacuated before the storm because the animals there are native to the area. The alligators did escape but they have been replaced with new ones. We have visited MANY zoos over the last 10 years and I think the New Orleans Zoo is one of the best that we have been to! If you are in the area it is well worth seeing.
Here are a few pictures from our day at the zoo. Enjoy! |
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Our family at the New Orleans Zoo - January 2007
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