Maryland Safari

Okay, get ready. This is a long one.

We left Rochester on Wednesday, feeling refreshed and satisfied, though sorry to leave. I love that city so much. Anyway, we realized we had few pictures of Miles with Morai and Grandpa Jim, so we snapped a couple while we were on our way out.

They're a photogenic bunch :-)


Miles knew a long road trip was commencing. He tried to look like a garden gnome, hoping we wouldn't spot him...

Didn't work.

However, he got to do some driveway steering, and that seemed to mollify him. (BTW, that is NOT me in early labor, there. I'm just... sore)

We couldn't wait a day: the very next morning after we arrived, Thursday, we went to the Baltimore Zoo to use our zoo pass. This zoo is so underrated! It's beautiful and has some really creative exhibits that let you get really close to animals, without feeling like they're cramped and restricted. Go if you can!

Yee haw!!

There's nothing like a penful of goats that can be freely touched. This toddler's dream just came true :-)



A whole pile of goats!! Just for me!!

Also, after climbing the inside of this tree and seeing the animals within... we get to slide down it? WHAT???

We totally sprang for some giraffe food.

I mean, look at that face!

The elephants were on parade. They have a baby African elephant and an excellent exhibit! You get REALLY close!

REALLY.

I just liked this bird. He looks pert.

After a long wait, the polar bear finally took a cooling dip. See my son's face in the reflection?

See it now? Entranced!!

I took this partly for the bear bootie, but partly for the PAWS. BUSINESS PAWS.

Miles is ecstatic when we'd linger by one of these fans. Sweet end to a really solid morning at the Maryland Zoo.

Our trip to the D.C. zoo on Saturday was hard to photograph. For starters, it was HOT. Also, it was CRAWLING with people, and it was hard to get close to the animals due to the park's design and the crowds. That does not mean that we didn't have an absolutely brilliant time. It just didn't end up being too photographable.

Aerial view of Asian elephant:

The great thing about the crowds, though, meant there were a lot of kids for Miles to frolic with during lunch:


We saw a lot of exotic animals that we weren't able to see in Baltimore: a gorgeous male lion, a tiger, gorillas, a panda, and orangutans. But Miles' clear favorite was

The meercat.

You can witness his delight below, if you want.


Naptime was a bit late after our epic D.C. trip. We all had some recovery to do.

Ooh, look, I don't look so huge under these conditions! I assure you, however... I AM huge. :-)

We're so grateful for the adventures this trip has afforded!