Fun Friday at the Bronx Zoo

Note to self: next time you go to the zoo, leave the house at 8:30 so you are arriving before the masses, and never go on a Friday, when you should avoid going anywhere south of New Haven county.

Actually, arriving with the masses was not bad at all. It was far less crowded than last time when we went on a weekend. First thing we did was go on the Skyfari since it was closed last time we went.
We actually rode it twice and also enjoyed the shuttle twice. It's nice to be a member; we don't have to worry about paying for each ride, so we can ride as much as we'd like. We skipped the monorail today since it looked like a 20 minute wait and we had done it during two previous visits. We'll take it again next time we head down in October.

On the walk to the Skyfari we got a good look at one of the polar bears playing in the water at the closer end of the pool.
Last several times we visited there were no polar bear sightings at all, so this was a special treat. R snapped several photos (here and throughout the park) in anticipation of the photography "competition" at the Durham Fair (which we are in full swing preparing for).

After disembarking the Skyfari we headed to the Children's Zoo, which is always a big hit. It's very kid friendly with lots to do and look at. There is very poor signage though. In the petting zoo there were some funky looking cows labeled "cows". Well I can tell you that no kid there could recognize them as cows, and mine wanted to know what kind they were. We missed out on the cool spider web today since it was otherwise occupied. We finished up the children's zoo about 20 minutes later and headed back to enjoy it, and when we got back we even waited another 10 minutes (along with many other people), but those day care supervisors were not going anywhere, even yelling at the kids as they got bored and started moving on to see some animals. So lots of people missed out on the spider web today. That's okay though, the place will be ours when we go back in October.

Two things we did this time which we had thus far never done, were the Asian Rain Forest, which was really well done, and the World of Birds, where we caught the "daily enrichment session" in which zoo keepers throw food to the bee-eaters, who in the wild catch their food while in flight. The World of Birds was a terrific building, and one of the only ones with interactive exhibits, which always go over well with the boys. We'll never go to see that animal feeding again though. The World of Birds is at the far lower end of the park near the parking lot we park in, and it's a long way back to see a three minute demonstration. Finding ourselves a long walk away from everything right smack in the middle of the day was a real drag.

That big gray blob in the center of this portion of the map says "under construction". Signs say it will open summer 2007. It's been closed for the almost entire year we've been members.
It's a bummer, because not only are the sea lions not available to see, but it cuts off the whole bird section behind it (above it on the map). After watching feeding time in the World of Birds (all the way at the bottom of the map) we tried to head up to the section with all the other birds, which is behind the construction area, but we ran out of juice before getting around the Children's Zoo, and so got back on the skyfari and then the shuttle back to the parking lot.

Not a very well planned out day today. We were all over the map and didn't get to see as much as I would've liked. But that's the beauty of being a member; there's never a rush.

Being in the Bronx demanded several White Castle hamburgers after the zoo. Yes, I had actually used the restaurant locator and found one just five blocks away. I've been jonesing for some White Castles lately and the grocery store ones just weren't cutting it. So it was very cool to be able to enjoy some straight out of the steaming boxes.

The one hour and 20 minute drive home took two and a half hours due to Friday traffic. No less than four accidents had occurred on 95, (thank you 102.7 FM) which I chose over the Merritt due to the traffic I hit out of that when we came home from the Norwalk Aquarium. I can't for the life of me understand why The Bronx Zoo would close at 5pm and spit out wads of tourists right into New York City rush hour. Why not close at 6 when it's all dying down?

A bummer yes, but not enough to ruin a most excellent Fun Friday.