Length of visit: February 14, Sunday
Hotel: Our house! The zoo is 45 minutes away from Elgin.
Cost: Free for the month of February!
Transportation: Car
Purpose: The giraffes missed me, I was sure of it.
Bill and I spent our Valentine's Day this year hanging out at the zoo. It was appropriate because we were engaged at this zoo on December 15, 2008. But the date wasn't really what made us decide to go to the zoo that day. It was more because the Brookfield Zoo was free on the weekends for the month of February! That is a deal that we could not miss out on. Some of you may ask, isn't it too cold to go to the zoo in February? I think Bill and I would be the first to say that the best time to go to the zoo is when you think it is the worst time! We have gone pretty much every time of year and the visits during the winter months definitely seem to be some of the best visits we've had. There are less people so the animals are much more calm and relaxed. We've had some wonderful moments watching the animals with no one else around. But, that being said, we don't go when it is 2 degrees! This day it was a comfortable 35-40 degrees and the sun was shining. We had on our winter coats, gloves and a hat for me but with that and the sun beating on us, we were just fine. So, here are some photos from this visit.
The gorillas were very active today. The little one was harassing anyone he could find!
The seals put on quite a show swimming around just for the two of us.
The zoo had this fun Polar Bear sleigh leftover from Christmas at the zoo still set up so I had to give it a try!
The closest I'll ever get to hugging a polar bear.
If you look closely, there is another penguin behind this one. They were, um, celebrating Valentine's Day too!
These two Black-Footed Cats were in two separate enclosures but could see each other through the glass. They were having a stare down when we got there. Very entertaining and so cute!
When we walked up to the Lion, we saw him standing off to the side like this and wondered what was going on...
Oh, that's what he is looking at! He was up close and personal with the guests today!
I thought this was cool with reflection of the little girl and the lion.
Of course we stopped to say hi to Hudson the Polar Bear who helped us get engaged!
And a visit to the zoo would not be complete without a visit with Joanna's favorites, the giraffes!
So there are some highlights from our trip to the zoo. I can't wait for our next zoo trip!
Up next, the Michigan Winter Beer Fest!
Happy Travels!
Joanna and Bill
