Brandi and I cleared the schedule yesterday so we could take the boys to the Nashville Zoo. They were so excited about this little field trip. At 7, 4, and 2 they’re at great ages for trips like this.
They love zoos so much I think it would be fun next summer to take a zoo tour. Try to hit up half a dozen or so different zoos around the country.
What have been your favorite zoo’s to visit?
Here’s a little video of the day that I made for the boys…
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/1881138]
Hope you guys have a great weekend,
Pete
Memphis & Knoxville both have great zoos. The one in Chicago is good too, if you’re willing to travel that far. If you want the aquatic side, the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is nice, but the aquarium in Gatlinburg is better (if you can get over the fact that its run by Ripley’s).
OK….I will be the unpopular one here….but I have never been a big fan of zoos. Not sure why but I am sure a therapist would tell you it has something to do with my childhood
That was awesome! Those boys are so cute!
I’ve heard that the Kansas City Zoo is pretty awesome. We live in Florida so we go to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. It’s pretty fun. My 3 and 1 yr old kids loved it.
Oh my goodness, I feel like I was there. Thanks for the great video and including us. My favorite is the snack bar. :0)
The Minnesota Zoo of course!
)
Here’s a trivia fact for you… Did you know this about elephants? When one of them are sick, the elders come along side and press in, holding the infirm up. They do not let the infirm lie down, for they know this surely means death. They press in, and hold up! Imagine if the church as a whole acted like a bunch of elephants, lol.
Blessings, Whitney
One of my family’s favorite zoo memories is the time I had a severe allergic reaction to the llamas. For some reason, my family finds it hysterically funny that I can’t breathe near llamas. My husband even went so far as to stop by the hospital pharmacy and have ‘llamas’ added to my allergy list. I’m sure it will save my life one day.
Looks like you guys had a blast! Every year we get passes to the SD Zoo & Wild Animal Park because it’s such a great deal and we’re pretty close. The kids love it, we love it. We were just there last week.
The Omaha zoo is the best! Come for the College World Series and make a week of it!
Pete Your kids have so much character just like their Mom and Dad Thanks for letting us be apart of the trip
@Alex mclean, The SD zoo is at the top of our list!
@Anita, that is so funny!
@Whitney, is that really true? If so, that is awesome.
Santa Barbara Zoo in Santa Barbara, CA. Intimate and friendly zoo. The next one is San Diego’s Wild Animal Park, San Diego, CA. Feels like you’re in the Jurassic Park movie.
Awesome video, I love the car ride home. We have a great zoo here in Calgary, Canada. It has a pre-historic park within it so great for kids who love dinosaurs, and a good place for mom and dad to rest while the kids play. Thanks for sharing.
That video was great! Like someone else said – I felt like I was there! Very cute kids!
Two favorite zoos – One was San Francisco Zoo but really because when my sis, her 2 girls and my father came to visit long time ago, we went there and the kids had a great time and a seagull swooped down and stole the hotdog right out of my son’s bun!
Second and more current is the Central Park Zoo in NYC. I love the tropic room and the penquins and polar bears and wandering around this zoo in the middle of the city.
I’m kind of like Joseph, I’m not much of a zoo person. Maybe it’s because our house is so much like a zoo most of the time. lol
We have been to the Nashville Zoo and the Knoxville Zoo and I would like to see the San Diego Zoo before I become a WalMart greeter.
I’ve gotta put my vote in for the Omaha Zoo. It is freaking amazing.
when I was a kid in SoCal, we visited the San Diego Zoo – it’s crazy awesome! but, up here, we have season passes to the Detroit Zoo – it’s a cool zoo and our kids love going (often).
Note: I used to dream about going to the Australian Zoo (where Steve Irwin was…) but upon Steve’s death, that dream has faded.
Have a great weekend, Pete!
That was so much fun… thanks for taking us along. I’ve only been to the Omaha Zoo once with my nieces and nephews (never as a kid) but it was so fun to watch them discover it (and them to watch me freak out over everything too).
@Anita… you seriously crack me up on a daily basis. I so would love to see the look on the nurse’s face when he went in to put llamas on your chart. Ornery!
@Nancy, I’ve never been to New York. I don’t think I even realized there was a Central Park Zoo. Very cool.
That sounds like so much fun! I love animals so much. I love hearing about Heaven’s streets of gold and pearly gates.. and of course no more sickness is really cool .. but I really hope there will be LOTS OF ANIMALS!!!
My dream is that every pet we ever owned will be running to meet us. (except for our old cats who will act like they don’t care but really love us just as much)
I love the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, run by none other than Jack Hanna. Very, very nice and a beautiful lights display for the holidays too.
Heidi Reed
Ok, first you have 5th Street’s turtle porn and now we have your video of frogs and alligators going at it. What’s up with the animals there in Nashville???
What a fun video. Great memories!
I haven’t been to a zoo in a long time. Only two zoos..Toledo Zoo went I was a kid, and Sanford Zoo when my kids were little. I like it cause it’s outside but it is soooo small.
I did hear the Atlanta zoo is good and they just lost their gorilla about a year ago..He was very old.
I feel that I should warn you and Gerald that the KC ZOO is terrible compared to places like Omaha and other big city zoos. It is neat how is is separated by continents but you walk like you are walking to a whole new continent and rarely see any animals…I would sneak past KC and go somewhere cooler!
Milwaukee zoo is pretty slick. It’s a tad on the expensive side I think though.
I’m 23…And I’ve gone to the zoo pretty much every single year since I was old enough to enjoy it (with the exception of last year when I was in South Africa, but that’s a zoo in itself.)
I’ll probably keep going as long as I’m in the states.
In my family of 5(hubby, me and 3 girls-5,3.5,3.5) we have a tradition of every city or country we visit we go to the zoo for the a kid activity. We have been to the Zurich, Switzerland zoo, Rotterdam, Holland, Thuringa Germany, Karlsruhe Germany, but my all time favorite zoo is ST LOUIS (and its free you just have to pay for your car). I am with the comment above the KC zoo is not worth the money or trip.
My suggestion is if you are going to take a Zoo tour become a Zoo member as many zoos reciprocate your membership.
Whenever I travel, I make it a point to visit the zoo. I loved the Dallas and Denver zoos.
Memphis has a great zoo, too.
brookfield zoo in chicago, IL (where I’m from). I loved looking at the giraffes. was really obsessed with them for a season. a lot of great stuff there. i like nashville, too, however. very simple. easy to walk thru the whole thing in a couple hours on a saturday afternoon. hope you enjoyed your time there.
My husband and I tend to visit zoos wherever we go. We went to San Diego zoo on our honeymoon. We LOVE the Toronto zoo if you’re ever up here (and it’s fantastic for kids!) We also loved the Brevard County zoo in Florida. You can hand feed giraffes and birds and take a kayak trip through the Rhino/giraffe enclosure and past lemur island (and it was relatively cheap). Buffalo zoo is also pretty cool. The reptile room looks like the zoo that Harry visits in the second(?) Harry Potter movie where Harry realizes he can understand the snake…
I also agree with the poster who said you should buy zoo passes if you think you want to do a zoo tour. I think they pay for themselves after 3 visits or so plus some are valid at different zoos throughout the states.
THE ST.LOUIS ZOO by far…. it’s HUGE and it’s FREE FREE FREE!!!!
WAY CUTE video!!
The St. Louis Zoo.
National Zoo in Washington, DC. Nice settting, lots of trees.
And it’s FREE!
I’ve been to lots of Aquariums, but I think the National Zoo is the only zoo I’ve ever visited.
Stay downtown in St. Louise, go to a ballgame, tour the Arch and then ride the monorail to the zoo. Great family vacation that is not too far away. You may wait till your kids are a little older for the whole package. Have fun on the zoo circuit.
Kariega Game Reserve — Port Elizabeth, South Africa. can’t really be called zoo though.
okay, so that was unfair. i agree that St. Louis Zoo is the best zoo I’ve been to in the US. don’t come all the way to Kansas City for our zoo. it really sucks.
I love the idea of the “free” zoo. That is so cool. I have to admit I was a bit surprised that the Nashville zoo cost $13 per adult.
My dad was a pilot, so we visited a lot of zoos … we like San Diego (HUGE – take the bus tour!), London Zoo and St. Louis Zoo. My local favorite is Nashville in that it is more like a nature walk and not so touristy. Pete – family membership is worth it with your crowd! $75/year for unlimited visits! We go about once a month and they have great after hour events for members!
Best natural zoo – Sumatra, Indonesia – WOW! Water Buffalo, monkeys, iguanas walking across the road … God sure did make some strange but awesome creatures!
Wonderful post.
I added your blog to my list of favs.
Keep up the great work.
National Zoo in DC is great and it is free other than the 15 for parking. North Carolina Zoo – think it is in Asheville – was the best I have ever been to . The safari in Africa was the best and I would say do it if you are ever in Africa.
I’d say Memphis and Omaha… both zoos are pretty fun. I hate the reptile room though… creeps me out.
A zoo tour would be awesome next summer! It might be worth it to investigate a membership to a zoo that offers reciprocal agreements with other zoos. For example, like Becca said, I’m a huge fan of the Milwaukee County Zoo. We had a membership there when we lived “up there”, and with that membership you could get free admission to like 20 other zoos on their reciprocal agreement.
I also agree that Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago is really nice, if not a lot of walking!
As a kid we use to always go on family vacations to my aunt and uncle’s in St. Louis. We always made a trip to the St. Louis Zoo while there. It was great back then.
I’m gonna have to vote for the Omaha zoo. It’s a good one! Cute video.