Birthday Blast!

Well, I expected to spend today mostly at home. Maybe going out to eat, and if I was lucky, going to Putt Putt at our local All Star for my birthday celebration. The hubby never does much for birthdays, because they aren't a big deal in his world.

So imagine my freaking amazement when after our big lunch at CiCi's Pizza, he drives me to the zoo! If you've been a follower of this blog for very long, you'll remember that zoos and museums are basically my favorite places in the world, so I was thrilled beyond thrilled!

Flowers in the newly renovated Jungle exhibit.

Now, the Sedgwick County Zoo is massive, so it took us a few hours to get through, but I was having so much fun that I didn't care how sore my feet were or how hot I was! There are so many amazing exhibits, segregated by their region in the world. So you have Australia (my personal favorite), Africa, Asia, South America, and North America. Along with the regional exhibits, you have the stand alone buildings and exhibits: The Jungle (a freaking real life slice of the rainforest!), the amphibian and reptile houses, the penguin cove, and the children's farms (which showcase animals from different regions in a petting zoo like setting).

A tropical bird perched above the entrance to the waterfall, in the Jungle.

We hit the Children's Farm first, and spent an hour or so wandering the various barns and exhibits, feeding the sheep and goats, and the fish as well. Next, we swung by the penguins, then on to the reptile house! OUtside the doors to the enclosure, I noticed some very out of place sunflowers making a go of it, and snapped a photo.

We toured North America next, and saw all the bears and antelope, and even a few bison. The otter enclosure, wasn't super crowded, but there was a trio of children running wild along the glass tank and screaming bloody murder, so I had to bypass one of my favorite exhibits since the parents didn't seem to see that behavior as any amount of disruptive to the rest of the zoo goers. but I digress...

A sleeping Cougar in the North American region.

We finished up the rest of the regions, and had to backtrack a bit to find our favorite cluster of exhibits: Australia and South America. Unlike the rest of the zoo, these two regions are entirely open to explore, with the wildlife running free in many instances. Which means you get some awesome encounters, like these!

A wallaby grazing near the entrance, about 2 feet from the doors, happily greeting visitors as they come in!

A pair of macaws sitting over the river that runs through the exhibit. They were close enough to reach out and touch!

As we entered the Australia enclosure, there was a Tawny Frogmouth just sitting on the sign, posing for photos. So needless to say, I had to snap selfie! I had no idea he was smiling too!

Needless to say, today was awesome, and I couldn't' have spent my 27th birthday any better!

Love and Lightning Bugs,