Calgary Zoo

We stopped in Calgary on the way home... purposely :)  We had a suite at a hotel booked for overnight and the zoo was on our hit list, after reading about the Illuminasia happening there.  We arrived at the zoo too late on Monday to walk around there so we opted instead for a view of the city and a bit of walking in the gorgeous weather. 

 The last time we had slept at a hotel it was a bit of a disaster so Andy insisted this experience was to be much better, in other words, no cheaping out on a room. :D  :D :))  I laugh only because this is so hard for us to do.. when push comes to shove who likes to pay for a sleep?  Me? No.  ;)  But we found this suite which was just to our liking and came with a pool/waterslide/hottub, breakfast, and supper!  We were thinking of heading to Bass Pro Shop after supper but we were all enjoying the hotel so much we decided to spend the rest of the day/evening there swimming, watching the presidential debate and eating complimentary popcorn.  It was a wonderful experience.

Tuesday was a much more blustery day then Monday but we still went to the zoo, we had to, the kids were so terribly excited.  Not all the animals were on display anymore (I'd imagine due to fall cleaning etc.) but it was a great time to go as the zoo was very empty of the human species.  Talking about the human species there, there was an area closed up with fences and construction workers were digging behind the fence. Andy being the joker in the family walked up to the fence and peeked behind, saying loudly enough for the workers to hear "What kind of species is this? Oh the human kind!".   Needless to say Seth and Tristan were in stitches from this joke that absolutely tickled their funny bone, and the rest of the day we heard it countless times when we saw a human peeking thru a fence or looking over a bush.  Pretty soon we were convinced that somehow we were walking around with the monkeys that should have been behind bars.

The zoo keeper was doing checkups on the tiger and we could watch the demonstration.  At one point he asked for a volunteer and Rowan, being anything but shy, volunteered and was picked to help out!  He got to wear this cute little tiger hat and play a game with the man.  Rowan was thrilled.  

Yes, the zoo grounds were quite empty or you would have never found me posing with this big guy.  We look quite similar, yes?  I feel oh so elegant, I mean - oh so much like an elephant.

And of course they ALL wanted a picture with the bear.  Do NOT leave Abby out. :)  

 Time to go home!  The kids were so tired from the wind and fresh air they slept peacefully most of the way home. It was a perfect ending to a great long weekend.
'till next time.