Meeting the Animals

For kids, visiting the zoo is part of the childhood must-do. We'd been wanting to take Zoya to the zoo for a long time but just couldn't find the right time. We bought this annual membership gift card for Will & Janice for their birthdays early this year and we also got one for ourselves so we can tag along. We found this SD zoo annual membership gift card at VONS and it's a very great deal for two adults for both SD zoo and wild animal park. It also came with two free admissions. That's how Ruth got in for free. So Saturday morning the entire crew came, even the 2-month-old baby Zech. How lucky he is to go to the zoo for the first time at such a young young young age. This the only group shot we had. Baby Zech is actually on the bottom level of the stroller....if you wonder...haha

Bringing two kids is NOT easy at all. Everyone just needs extra patience and slow down our paste and be flexible. The zoo is actually very big and we started our visit on the tour bus to get an idea where the animals are. I had the chance to take a close shot of baby Zech while sitting behind them on the tour bus. You look cute Zech! It was a comfy ride~

Meeting the "real" animals is extremely exciting for little Zoya. She knows a lot of the animals from TV, DVD, and books. We were also super excited and eager to see her reaction when she sees the animals. I think all of us had a blast. Those creatures are just very unique and cute. Here are some of the photos we took. Aren't they lovely?!

This rhino is completely clad in armor. very cool...

This polar bear is taking a sunbath and looks like it's looking directly at my camera!

The koala bears are extremely cute and fluffy. All the koala bears were sleeping when we visited them. I think they sleep 19-20 hours a day. It's so interesting how they just stick themselves between the branches on the trees when they sleep. I think they got really good balance skills! They won't fall off from the trees...

Giraffe is one of Zoya's favorite animals. They're TALL!

The zoo closed early on Saturday due to a fundraise event. We were not able to see the entire zoo so we only saw the major ones we wanted. Yay! Zoya had so much fun and for sure she is such a happy girl.

For the night, we walked to the nearby Gaslamp District for dinner.

This place is not kids friendly. Many were dressed up and ready to party through the night. I didn't see any strollers except ours. We went to this restaurant called "Ocean Room" which is recommended by the hotel concierge. It's located on the busiest street of the district. We had the seafood pasta with lobster sauce.

Today was the last day to be a 29-year-old.