San Diego Zoo

Today we spent all day at the world-famous San Diego Zoo.  The zoo is on 100 acres and has over 4,000 animals.  We meandered through the confusing trails to see the majority of them, and the pictures tell the story better than I can.  We especially enjoyed petting the oldest animal in the zoo, a 150-year-old giant tortoise, watching the rhinos fight, learning how the zoo uses domestic dogs to buddy with wolf pups and cheetahs (we didn't get a good picture, but a golden retriever was in the cheetah cage!), and watching the orangutans somersault.  It was apparent throughout our visit that the zoo is extremely involved in research and conservation, and takes these roles very seriously.  

A Monday in November was the perfect day to go.  The zoo wasn't crowded at all, and zookeepers were at several exhibits to tell stories and answer questions.  

The zoo is part of Balboa Park, which is a 1,200 acre park in the city- sometimes compared to Central Park in New York.  Balboa Park has fountains, gardens, and lots of museums.  In the summer, the symphony plays here.  The park has a lot going on, and we had planned to explore the park after the zoo.  But after six hours of walking, more walking was the last thing we wanted to do.  We drove through the park but didn't do much else.  We did stop at the Science Museum and saw the IMAX film Born to be Wild, about women who rescue baby elephants and orangutans that have been orphaned by poaching or deforestation.  Good movie, and our tootsies appreciated the break.

After taking a break at the hotel, we went out for a late dinner.  We were looking forward to a nearby pizza place that is rated highly on Trip Advisor, but they were closing as we got there.  Instead we went to a sports bar, which was just so-so.

Here are zoo pictures: