Wild time, we had it.

Welcome to the San Diego Zoo!!

We took a bus tour of the zoo on a double decker bus!  Sure glad that we did that... we discovered that the zoo had lots of hills to go up and down and that to walk the entire zoo it would take over 6 hours!  The bus had us seeing most of the zoo in 35 minutes!! If I may make a recommendation to you all - take the bus tour if you ever go to the zoo in San Diego!!

The kids enjoyed being on the top and getting a great view of the zoo and many of the animals. Blossom was sitting next to me and wiggling constantly so, I couldn't get a photo of her up there, but I promise you she was there and she was definitely using her outside voice!!

This is "King" a quite elderly Manchurian Brown Bear.  The zoo keeper told us that he spends a lot of time up in the cave area sleeping, so this few moments when we were seeing him wandering around some was a special treat!

The zoo keeper told us that Koalas sleep, on average 22 hours a day. Koalas aren't at lots of zoos in the U.S.A. because it can be challenging to keep them fed with bamboo. San Diego is an area that can grow bamboo quite easily, so feeding the Koalas isn't a huge challenge. Anyway, seeing Koalas awake is quite a deal and we were thrilled to see a few awake.  They liked hiding in the leaves, so many of my pictures are of an eyeball and a nose or there are several of the Koalas sleeping in the trees like a little puff ball.  Here's a great view of a seemingly curious Koala.

You know, zoos are NOT my favorite place to go. But, when we do go to the zoo I love to watch the primates! Gorillas are my favorite. We had a look at all the monkeys, chimps, etc... I enjoyed all the gorilla activity and their enjoying a tasty treat!  I will share more pictures of these amazing creatures some other time. I know that this post has too many photos already, but I just couldn't pare down any further!!

Did you know that that joint there on the flamingo's leg that is about halfway from the ground to to the body is the ANKLE?!?!  Yep - the ankle!  The knee is hidden up under the feathers and these crazy and graceful birds are walking up on their "toes" - Silly ballerina birds!

The Galapagos Tortoise was big and slow. But, it was determined to get closer to the gate to see these other strange exhibits... Bud, Branch, Blossom and Geemah!

Geemah felt a bit sorry for his extra dry skin on his neck.  Oh, the moisturizer he apparently needed.  The wrinkles, my dear, the wrinkles!

We went on SkyFARI! A trip on the little sky baskets was a bit of a thrill and took us to the opposite side of the park. Save us from the walking oh SkyFARI ride!

And where did that SkyFARI take us?  To see the Polar Bear Plunge, of course! There were two, but neither was taking the plunge and showing us their spectacular swimming prowess. All the play in this area was the kids climbing on some stainless steel polar bear sculptures!

We nearly missed this handsome creature!  But, Blossom saw the sign and really wanted to see the Zebras... so, down a steeeeeeep grade we went on the hunt for this animal.

Blossom's little legs were so tired and were a bit chilly since she decided she did not want to wear tights with her skirt.  So, Geemah stepped up to the plate and carried her around a bit.

This Giant Panda is "Gao Gao" which means Big Big.  He is the resident male and is a very small male at around 156 pounds. He had a rough start in life and was rescued in the wilds of China. He supposedly is a bamboo eating machine. We saw him pacing waiting for his next bamboo meal!

This is Gao Gao's daughter, "Zhen Zhen" which means Precious. I found her sleeping in the tree to be very precious, indeed! Her mother, "Bai Yun" (White Cloud), shares the exhibit with her. We saw her, and I did get a few pictures of her. But, again - I chose the best that I could out of my pictures from the day! I decided to spare you the terror of 508 photos.  You're welcome.

This Great Horned Owl, Einstein, was quite a beauty! I nearly cracked up laughing watching her turn her head around. I had never seen an owl up close, and what a shock to see her head on backwards.  I mean, on right, but turned all the way around and it really looked like they had taken the head off the lego guy and put it on backwards!

One of the last to be seen was the Reptile House.  At the bottom right of the picture, you can see a yellow snake.  I liked the kids better than the snake, so I focused on them! Bud loved the snakes and other creepy creatures. Branch and I were game to look.  Blossom and Geemah were all worn out and waited on a park bench while we explored the slithery creatures.

All in all it was a fun day. It was a zoo. It was a beautifully laid out zoo with lush vegetation, apparently happy and active animals and according to Geemah, clean! I can say I did the touristy thing in San Diego. Since I am not planning a return trip to San Diego, I won't have regrets.  Been there. Done that. Check!!