San Diego Zoo

I'm embarrassed to say how long it has been since I have been to the San Diego Zoo, so I'll just say it has been a long time. But this morning seemed like a good day to utilize that zoological society membership card that sits in the back of my wallet. We have had a record breaking heat wave in San Diego this week, so any excuse to get out of my un-air-conditioned apartment is a good idea.

Even though it was hotter than you-know-what in Clairemont, it was nice walking around the Zoo. It was especially nice when you could get a drift of mist coming from one of the animal enclosures. These koala enclosures were well equipped with automated misters.



I wanted to see as many exhibits as possible in a quick 3 hour visit. We started with the koalas, walked up Bear Canyon to see the lion and bear enclosures, had a quick lunch, then hiked up to the Polar Bear Plunge. OK, we took the escalator!



I think the Polar Bear Plunge was my favorite exhibit. Maybe it was because seeing the cool water and fake ice background made me feel cool and refreshed, but I think the polar bears actually seemed happy to be there. Maybe?

From there we took the sky-tram back down towards the entrance to go to the Tiger River trail. Even though it was very hot and the animals were a little lethargic, we at least got a glimpse of most animals. The gorillas were incredible, almost spooky how similar they are to humans. I also liked and must mention the hippo exhibit, it was really cool. We finished with a quick scan of the reptile house, and picked up a couple of souvenir's on the way out.

Unfortunately, my camera battery was low, so I limited my picture taking today. I did manage to get a few decent photographs (see album here), and I have a list of things to see the next time that I have an excuse to go to the zoo.