Henry Doorly - The Zoo

Warning: photo heavy post!

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July. We spent our holiday traveling home. Whomp whomp.

We're home and trying to adjust to the time change. Marcus didn't care it was 4:00AM, to him it felt like 6:00, so we have been up for what feels like ages.
Enough of all that. On to the fun stuff...

While visiting home I knew making a trip to the zoo was a must-do. Growing up I loved the zoo, and I wanted to pass the magic of the zoo on to Marcus.

You don't have a true zoo experience if the temperatures are below 98 degrees, the humidity is below 1,000%, and crowds come in droves. Lucky for us we were treated to all of the aforementioned.  However, Marcus and I enjoyed ourselves.

Even the sign still gets me excited!

Our first stop was the aquarium. Love, love, love this place, and I think Marcus really did, too.

He has no idea how much awesomeness is about to happen.

Upper left: Touching star fish - so cool!
Upper and mid right: checking out the aquarium.
Lower: Getting a good look!

Upper: WOAH! The penguins were pretty captivating.
Lower: A small cove perfect for little ones to explore and play. Marcus could have probably spent all day here.

A quick trip through the desert dome. Marcus will (hopefully) appreciate this area more when he's a little older.

A stop in the cat house proved to be rewarding.
Marcus and a lioness had a bit of a stare down.

The rain forest!
Left: Checking out a bird who was just within arms reach.
Top right: Checking out the monkeys swinging from the branches.
Lower left: That's one big lizard!
Lower right: Marcus loved strolling through the rain forest, checking everything out.

I love this picture!!

To the petting area we went!

Skip "petting" the animals. Marcus found lying on the goats was appropriate.

The animals were good fun, but I think what entranced Marcus the most was the train ride around the complex.

Aside from quad rides my child has never sat so still for me.

To cool off before heading out we made a quick stop in the water fountain. Marcus is still a little skittish of water spraying, but this was just the ticket to cool the little man off after a long, but fun zoo adventure.

Our Henry Doorly experience has me excited for the many summer days we will spend at the zoo as Marcus gets older and can fully appreciate everything. Until then, I'm not going to rush the little man growing up. I'm perfectly content sitting back and watching as he soaks up all the wonder and newness of his world.