Franklin Park Zoo

Thursday was another beautiful day, although a little too hot for me.  We promised Mr. No that we would take him to see animals.  We were going to go to a CT zoo but H decided to stay a little closer to home, so we settled on the Franklin Park Zoo.   H likes the gorillas and Mr. No loves animals in general. We only had one detour on our way there and I did not lose the ticket or even temporarily misplace it for once!  I consider that I win for me!  Mr. No was sleepy but too excited to nap on the way up until literally the last 10 minutes.  I absolutely hate having to wake him up but we weren't going to joy ride around Boston and it was too hot to stay in the car.  Luckily it was just sleepy, excited Mr. No and not super crazed crabby arm flailing Mr. No who woke up at the zoo.  Somehow, no matter how long we spend there, we always seem to be rushing to leave at closing without really getting to see every animal.  One of these days we'll do a morning trip and take our time and discuss more than just what each animal eats.  I wish I was a more efficient, less scatterbrained Mom!  As usual, Mr. Now as off and running as soon as we entered the gate and set a very quick pace for the day.

always running!

Our first stop was the gorillas. Two of them were right at the glass and the baby was crawling all around.  The baby was so adorable!  Mr. No was too excited to stay too long but did stop at every gorilla window to take a peek at them.

watching the gorillas

absolutely gorgeous animals!

adorable baby

amazed by the animals!

We didn't get to stay too long at my favorite animal. Lemur!  I do love those cute little lemurs.  Mr. No loves all of them.

 

Mr. No was pretty disappointed that the pygmy hippo wasn't out but at least tapir from Diego was.  I wish I could have gotten a photo of the bats since they were Mr. No's favorite of the day.  He liked the was one bat swooped down and knock the other down in midair.  He was still talking about that today at Nana and Papa's house.

Tapir

The last time we went the mandrill was not there.  I don't remember if he was just not in there or he wasn't even there yet.  Mr. No loved him and he was very interested in Mr. No.  He came right over to the glass and then followed Mr. No as he walked along the length of it.  Mr. No thought it was the greatest thing ever!.

checking each other out

There were so many animals to see and learn about.  Couldn't get Mr. No to pause for a minute to really look at the animals.  He was so interested in what other animals could be there.

This time bird world was open as was the exhibit with the budgies.  Too bad we didn't have cash because we would have liked to have gotten a feed stick for Mr. No.  the little birds were super cute.  One of the zookeepers was down in the pen cleaning up and was almost attack by a goose down there who was a little territorial. Mr. No then  proceeded to talk her ear off.  He just loves people so much.

exploring

We did stop and play for a little bit in the little play areas.  I do have to say that they could use a little general maintenance and fresh coat of paint but Mr. No had tons of fun.

Mr. No loves to hold the map and be the guide wherever we go. So after playing, it was time to take his job seriously and consult the ever handy map.  After a little detour, he lead us straight to the second play area and then on safari with the zebras and giraffes.

turning it around may have helped a bit

Since we were already on safari, Mr. No hopped in a Land Rover and took off to explore.  Apparently his driving skills were not what he had hoped they would be because he promptly crashed into the lion's den!  Oh No Mr. No!

I'm a-gonna drive my car

Luckily the lion was taking a little siesta!

After the Land Rover fiasco, we wandered over to the barnyard.  Mr. No had better luck with the tractor. 

making his running motor noise

Whee!

He even turned cowboy for a few minutes and hopped on a horse for a little ride around the farm!

We only had a few minutes left before closing so we popped in to see the snakes and turtles and then watched the prairie dogs for a while before having to head back to the other end of the zoo to get to the car.

we all loved the prairie dogs!

Mr. No thoroughly entranced by the prairie dogs

Of course we got lost on the way home and ended up in stopped MassPike traffic.  Can we go anywhere without getting lost at some point?  I think not.  We arrived home late and exhausted but all Mr. No could talk about the entire ride was all the animals that he saw. I'm going to have to put together a photobook of all the animals we've seen with facts about them.  Then we can mix a little more learning into our fun memories.