Jungle Island

Izy and my normal routine was changed up a bit today. Usually up around 7am and actually moving (or at least bathed/eaten/put together) by 9am. Out the door for a 2-4 mile walk by 10-ish, back in time for lunch, maybe an errand or a visit to the park in the afternoon around 3-4pm .

This Thursday morning, Isabella kept running around the house saying "annnmaall" (animals) and man, she had enough energy for 3 children. So we packed up and went over to Jungle Island, where she could see some animals. We visited there with Tulsi and Nyah a few weeks ago and ended up getting a season pass for $10 more than normal one-day admittance. It literally takes 4 minutes to get the car out of the garage (it is not fun having a parking spot on floor 10) and then 4 minutes to get to the Jungle Island, as it is just 1/2 mile on McAurthur Causeway. $5 to park and we are good to go. Monkeys, Orangutans, Birds of all sorts: Flamingos/Penguins/Macaws/Toucans/etc, Crocodiles and Alligators, lots of plantlife, a Liger (900 lbs of tiger + lion) and a petting zoo consisting of malnurished kangaroos, HUGE old tortuises, goats, one sad calf and an agressive llama.

We rolled up at 11am, one hour after opening, and ended up sharing the park with seriously what seemed like 1000 elementary school children. Greeeaat. We walked around for a bit, caught part of the penguin "show" aka "educational talk" and then rushed to the Jungle Pavilion to catch good seats for the "Tiger Show". Isabella sat patiently eating slightly unfrozen carrots (great snack for hot weather - frozen veggies) for about 20 minutes while the 1000 children joined us in organized chaos of matching colored teeshirts. First out were 2 Asian Bengal Tiger babies, one orange, one white, both pretty darn cute. Then out came a North American Wolf (at a tiger show?), an Asian sloth of some sort (downhill quickly....), and then a (drum roll please) North American Skunk. What?? Seriously? Yes. The kind that lays alongside roads in Indiana is really something to see down here in the big city. I can't make this stuff up. That's when we left the show early.

Isabella loved the birds though, and seemed to enjoy the beautiful water falls and foilage. We were there for about 2 hours and here is the best picture...45 minutes of quiet time I got when we returned home! It was all worth it! :)