The Toldeo Zoo

Yesterday, we decided to go on a mini road-trip to The Toldeo Zoological Gardens.  We have never been there before, but heard a lot of great things about it.  Plus, it's only about 45 minutes across the U.S. border from us, so it's a reasonable car ride to get there.  Andrea and Kevin were very excited to go.  All three kids did surprisingly well on the car ride, and we only heard, "Are we there yet?" three or four times.  Furthermore, Ryan loves car rides (as long as we keep moving), so the hour-long freeway trip was perfect for him.  He was very vocal, but also very relaxed, during our drive to the zoo. (He slept all the way home. It was past nap-time).

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Andrea is ready to go to the zoo!

Kevin is ready to go to the zoo . . . ? Not quite.

A friendly Harbor Seal swam close to the glass for us, so we could get a good look, at the Arctic exhibit.

The Polar Bear was sitting in the sun, glancing over his shoulder at us.

Ryan sat up and watched Andrea go on the African carousel.  He and Kevin weren't interested in going on any rides for themselves.

Andrea had Daddy for company on the African carousel. She chose to ride on a baby elephant.

After the carousel, we got in line for the Africa Safari train ride.  Ryan was getting tired. It was close to nap time, so he almost fell asleep on Daddy while we were waiting!

The little boys were not too excited about the train ride. Kevin got scared and cried (yes, there are actual tears in this photo!), so we had to coax him on the train. It's odd because he went on the Thomas train at Greenfield Village back in May, and had a great time.  Oh, well.  Ryan was just sleepy.

Andrea and I shared a seat behind the boys. I tried to take a picture of the two of us, but ended up with Andrea's big grin, a bit of my arm, and a bit of my eyebrow!

The first animals we saw on the safari train were the African Wild Dogs.  They were resting in the shade.  These are called "painted" wild dogs because of their spotted coats.

This Impala was right next to the fence in the next section of the safari.  It didn't seem at all bothered by the train or the visitors.

Next we saw a Zebra and two Wildebeest grazing by each other.

The Zebra and Wildebeest were joined by a Giraffe, in the shade.

It was interesting to see how well these different grazers got along together.

Two Impala were hiding nearby in the shade, while the Giraffe got a bit closer to us.

As we came around the other side of the Africa area, we saw another Giraffe, two East African Crowned Cranes, and an Ostrich.

As we came around the bend, Andrea also made an amusing, but not surprising, observation.  It was a warm day, in an open-air exhibit with live animals, so the scent was a bit pungent at some points.  Andrea was sitting quietly, when she suddenly made a comment about how it smelled kind of gross, due to the animal droppings!

(However, most of the ride was pleasant. I guess we just got downwind of the poop smell at that point!)

They also had some interesting bushes and plants beside the train tracks. Andrea thought this flower was especially pretty.

Andrea's looking at a huge termite mound (ew!) and the Ostrich is walking near it.

Kevin started to relax and notice the animals about halfway though the train ride.  I believe he was asking about the termite mound when I snapped this photo.

Ryan likes most gentle-motion rides, like in the stroller, in the car, and on this safari train. He didn't really notice the animals, but he was relaxed and content.  He almost fell asleep again!

The two Wildebeest and the Ostrich are joined by a big Saddle-Billed Stork.

East African Crowned Cranes are monogamous; they mate for life.  They also have cool hairdos!

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After the safari train ride, we stopped to have lunch.  There we learned that Andrea and Kevin hate lemonade: apparently it's too sour, even when sweetened (long story, with much childish complaining).  However, the lunch area was interesting because where we sat overlooked the safari area, and two or three griaffes and some of the other animals kept coming up close to the edge of their enclosure, near the pcinic area.  I saw a giraffe and an impala playing together, chasing each other, like they were racing or playing tag!  After lunch, we headed off to see some more animals.

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The tigers were sleepy, and resting in shady spots.  This Tiger was resting under a tree. (There was a glass viewing area that was supposed to help us see the tigers better, but it was a bit smudgy.)

Daddy, Kevin, and Andrea spotted a Tiger asleep in the rock cave.

Here's a close-up of the Tiger who was napping in the cave.

These are African Penguins.  The one poked his head out of the water to say hi!  Andrea, Daddy, and Kevin got to go down some stairs to the glass viewing area, so they could see an underwater view of the penguins swimming by them.

Here's some more of the African Penguin habitat. There didn't seem to be too many penguins out. (They were probably hiding in a cooler area.)

Meanwhile, Ryan and I found our own shady spot, with a cute sculpture of a momma tiger and her cubs.

Andrea sat on the momma tiger's tail to pose.  It looks like the cub is about to pounce on her! Watch out, Andrea!

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Unfortunately, the kids lost interest about halfway through the zoo exhibits.  It was hot on that day, too.  We were only there for about 3 hours (including a long lunch break).  Therefore, we missed out on a lot of interesting things, like the apes, reptile house, butterfly conservatory, etc.  However, it's a zoo that's not too far away and seems to have a lot to offer, so we plan to try again in a year or two.