June 23: We're going to the Zoo!

As a family, we love zoos.  When we lived in Ohio, we went to the zoo at least once a month and never got tired of it.  Rachel actually volunteers at the Philadelphia zoo, so it was a must for us.

It was another hot, humid day, and there was rain in the forecast for the afternoon, so we got up early and got moving.  Jonathan had been wanting donuts for days, so we went to the Dunkin' Donuts down the street from the hotel for a sugary breakfast before heading in to the zoo.

We're not even in the zoo yet and
the hippo is eating Jonathan!

Really cool mural on the
overpass before we got to the
zoo entrance.

We did not get to play with the tortoises, but enjoyed
watching them be up and moving around.

 The Philadelphia zoo has a really cool feature they call Zoo 360 that includes tunnels above the paths  where the animals are allowed to play.  We loved seeing the animals up above us!

Monkey in the tunnel above.

I'm not sure what they're
talking about, but it looks
important.

Tiger above our heads.

He's just chilling out.  Above us.

Emily and Abigail were desperate to ride the camel.

They wished the ride had been
longer!

Otters are always entertaining.

These birds were making a ruckus!  The horn on top
makes their sound reverberate like crazy!

Peacock wandering free
through the zoo.

I'm an aardvark, and I'm proud!  (and lazy)

By the time we walked by them again, the tortoises
had given up and were taking a nap. 

By 3:00 it was 94 degrees and felt like 103.  But no rain yet!
We had to stop for frozen lemonade before walking back
to the car.

After another long day of walking in the heat, we headed back to Rachel's for dinner.  While we were cooking meat for tacos, the storm rolled in and the power went out.  Fortunately, she has a gas stove, so we finished cooking by flashlight and had a lovely candlelight dinner.

The storm made the news the
next morning.  A huge part of
the city was without power.

 As we drove back to the hotel, there were lots of downed trees and branches.  Fortunately we made it back without any problems.  Everyone was exhausted again and asleep as soon as the lights were out.

Benjamin announced that he was
so tired he was going to sleep
right on the floor between the beds.
None of us were quite convinced that
he was actually asleep!