One caveat to this post, before we get going. We did spend some money for this one, but hang in here with me for a moment, and I think I can convince you of this worthy investment! Kiddos under 2 are free at the Nashville zoo, so Sweet P is covered for the next year! Hubby and I decided to get the “Dual” membership for us, so we can take Sweet P an unlimited number of times, as well as have sweet deals (like free entry!) to other zoos when we travel. Cost of admission at the zoo is pretty crazy - $14 for an adult. And although I have never seem them charge for parking (and didn’t see anyone taking money on this recent visit), supposedly they charge $5 for parking. Making the cost of one visit for the three us a grand total of $33. Assuming we want to go at least twice in a year, that’s $66. We paid $55 for the yearly membership. So, go twice, and it’s already worth it! Not to mention admission into special members-only events, and like I said, free admission into reciprocal zoos, which appeal to us when thinking about visiting my parents in KY, my best friend in OH, Hubby’s dad in AL, and our upcoming turn-my-work-conference-into-a-family-vacation in Madison, WI. Totally awesome deal! (Funny note, now that we got our membership, we got an email about $20 off a membership for us to share with others as an attempt to recruit more members. Man! We could have gotten this for $35?!!? Oh, well! We have shared the deal with lots of people and apparently we can earn points if they actually buy memberships. I think all will earn is a backpack, but maybe Sweet P will like it?!!?). So, all that being said, we are THRILLED that we made this investment. Especially because we don’t have the money for lots of other things, but this will be WONDERFUL sights and sounds for Sweet P, great people watching, exercise and fresh air, and more! And since we have the membership, we can go whenever we want, like on days I am home with her (that might be less crowded), or hubby can take her on days I have other plans, and it’s a great activity for them to do together. And we can stay as long or as short a visit as we want without worry that we aren’t getting our money’s worth! Yes!
So, about our actual trip to the zoo. We had been wanting to take our first trip for a while. And with the freakish warm temperatures, it was on our mind. We had lots of free time last weekend, and decided Saturday was the day. Of course when Saturday arrived, it was actually only in the high 40s and it was windy! We were worried it would be a little too cold, but it was sunny, and so we bundled Sweet P up, packed her some lunch, and headed out. We figured we were buying the membership, so if it was too cold, we’d stay a little while then come back soon another day!
It ended up being just beautiful! A lot of people were out because of the sunshine, but not huge amounts because of the cold – it was just right! Hubby was probably just as excited as Sweet P to see all the animals. He didn’t grow up getting to go to the zoo, like I did in Louisville and on travels to see family in Chicago, New York, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, etc.. I forget how special something like this is! Another wonderful reason we are thrilled to provide this experience to our Sweet P. We skipped over the elephant/giraffe area on the way in, thinking we’d it on the way back out, but for time (we had to get home for naptime!), we ended up deciding we’ll have to start there next visit. We weren’t sure if all the animals would be out due to the cold, but it was perfect! Sweet P loved the monkeys, meerkats, fish, and especially the clouded leopard (“kitty! kitty!” or “gi!” “gi!” as she says). I just love that red panda – so cute! And I was really fascinated by the flamingos. They are funny little birds. And, I was very brave. Leaving the reptile house (okay I was brave just to go in to the reptile house – I am terrified of snakes!) there was a zoo worker with a small desert sand snake. I let hubby and Sweet P go over to them to look. Hubby touched it and I wanted to be brave for Sweet P, so I gathered up my courage and got close and I touched it too! Twice! Very proud. But my heartrate was up the entire time we near there. Yikes!
Sweet P had a great day. We got our “carseat” stroller out of our attic for the adventure, since it has a tray for food. Sweet P had never even ridden in there forward facing – she had only been in it in the carseat facing us, but it was great. It’s not as sleek as the BOB and it’s more cumbersome than the umbrella stroller, but it holds the entire big diaper bag in the bottom storage compartment, has a tray for Sweet P, and a cupholder for us! The zoo lets you bring in food and drink – how great is that – so we just stopped a couple times to load up Sweet P’s tray with lunch and her milk and we were good to go. Of course she got out of her stroller plenty to get good looks at things, and you can’t bring the stroller into the reptile house or the petting zoo area. (Oh my goodness did I forget to mention the petting zoo?!!? All of my fav animals – goats, donkeys, alpacas, and more! And Sweet P loves owls!). Anyway I had to learn to trust my fellow zoo-goers in leaving the stroller unattended, but it was pretty trustworthy crowd, it seems. Oh, but I was going to say, once Sweet P was out of the stroller, she didn’t want to be held…our big girl wanted to walk around! She held her papa’s hand (she doesn’t walk more than a few steps occasionally by herself yet) and she just went all over the place. When she is a true walker, there is going to be no stopping her!
Here are a few pics from our day:
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