Eye opening

About a week and a half before we flooded, we went to the zoo--only our second time this year despite having an annual membership.  We had intended to go a few more times before it expired...

The weather was perfect!  Sunny but not too hot yet.  We arrived so late and the zoo was so full that we opted to eat lunch first, then go on a train ride around Hermann Park and then go to the zoo.

Lunch by the pond was pleasant--except for the complaining of the sun in eyes again.  Must have two kids with the most sensitive eyes around!

These two extra kids posed better than my three...

The train ride was truly eye-opening.  Yes, it was covered and so the eyes literally could be opened, but the trip (a nice tourist destination for families with small kids) takes you literally straight through a HUGE camp of homeless...not once, but twice.  I know there are plenty of homeless in Houston, but never seen so many all congregated in one spot.  Most sleeping in the middle of the day, or visiting around the restrooms and covered pavilion, or cooking on the park barbecue pits.  What I had anticipated to be a comfortable, indulgent ride around the park, was anything but comfortable and seemed even more indulgent than ever.  Wow!

By the time we made it to the zoo, the crowds had finally thinned out a bit and we could enjoy a brief trip to enjoy all our favorite spots.

First stop was the sea lion tank.  We were just in time for feeding time and talk with the keepers.

Then on to other parts of the zoo--our favorite, the monkeys!

Winding through the zoo we saw various and sundry...

To the cats.  The lion was very active this day... And David flexed his muscles, a gesture he repeated often.

We passed the giraffes~

To the easter egg dipped Rhinos~

And then the large primates~

a little of this and that...

the elephants~

a traveling exhibit of sculpure created from beach finds (coincidentally saw this same exhibit at Sea World last year)

And our last stop--the Natural Encounters building...where the kids had a great time crawling through the piranhas tank and viewing other interesting animals.

Oops and walked by the active red panda...
A very full day with lots of eye opening both metaphorically by us and physically by the animals.