A Day at the Zoo (take 2...)

It appears the Coleman family just can't get enough of our animal friends. For the second weekend in a row, we have spent time looking at animal exhibits. This trip was planned at the last minute and was a bit more hectic than our normal road trips. Chris was tired from a long week of work and (to get him out of the house), I proposed a trip to Louisville at 10:00 am on Saturday morning. He never turns me down as long as the Cheesecake Factory is one of the scheduled stops. We were on the road just before 11:00pm and made it to Louisville just in time for lunch (Yea!!). The plan was as follows: eat, shop, let Sarah nap, and go to the zoo.
Sarah's plan was as follows: go to the zoo, go to the zoo, go to the zoo. She was not a happy camper at the Cheesecake factory and she could have cared less about the mall, but our luck changed when a nice man gave Chris his police car buggy that he rented from the mall. Sarah had a blast "driving" around with Dad while Mom shopped.
Sarah took a great nap in the car (a little too great because we didn't get to the zoo until 3:20. Upon entering, we find out they close at 5:00pm (ugh!!!).

Between the nap and the rush, Sarah's hair, clothes, and photos look a little messy. I don't think she minded (but it drove me crazy!)

For those of you who are faithful viewers, I'm sure you expected this photo at some point in the post so...here it is. (Chris is saying that he is getting too old for this)

This is the part of the zoo we missed out on a couple of months ago. Sarah absolutely loved looking at the giant turtles!

This guy has had a rough day as well.

Sarah found her best friend "Oinker." We tell stories every night about a pig named Oinker. It is a nightly request of Sarah. She was so happy to see him here!

She wasn't quite as fond of the iguana but agreed to take the photo anyway.

We thought the bat was pretty cool (gross, but cool) .

Yes, this is a real alligator. We watched it for a while and it's eyes did move (but its mouth did not)

Sarah found a nice canoe to jump in. I am sure she was not supposed to do this, but we saw no sign and, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss!

This was the closest we could get to the jaguar.

For the second week running, Sarah got to see a bald eagle!

And here comes the highlight of the trip... the famous train. Except there was one problem... we are at the far end of the park, it is 4:20, and no one got off the train at this stop. Solution: we had to high tail it up the hill (with Sarah on Chris's back), and hope to catch the train at the entrance before it was too late.

Sarah tried to explain to us how we would be able to catch the next train that came into the train stop (it is a confusing story, but very cute).

We only stopped at one exhibit on our long trek up the hill (the Tigers)

Finally, at 4:46, we trudge up to the train stop just in time to catch the second to last train of the day. We were hot, sweaty, and exhausted, so the breeze was a welcome change of pace. I have to admit, I love the train as much as Sarah!

Can you feel the breeze? This was an exceptionally fast train ride.

Lessons learned: Plan ahead, leave by 9:00 am (at the latest), don't tell your preschooler that she will see animals until 5 minutes before arriving, and wear light clothes and comfortable shoes at the zoo. We came home tired, but we made great memories as always! We probably saw 90% of what we wanted to see and despite the heat, and rushing around at times, the family had fun. Mission accomplished!