Boo at the Zoo

Kelly and I took Jack for his first trip to the zoo yesterday. Now, if you've ever been to a zoo, you'll know that they are filled with exotic animals from all over the world, including places outside of the U.S.

Fortunately, DC has one of the best collections of animals open to the public for free. However, if you're not able to get to the Natural History Museum, the National Zoo is a nice alternative. Given that it costs absolutely nothing to get in, you've gotten more than your money's worth if you see just 1 animal. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Not so fast, my friends. The under-stocked zoo appears to have modeled itself on the fictional Noah's ark; two lions, two tigers, two elephants, two horses (didnt catch their scientific name). Animals left off the boat included the gorillas (evidently, the mist precluded their appearance).

Now to be fair, we did arrive at 1pm on a very warm Sunday. If I'm an orang-utan, I probably prefer the cool air indoors to the staring gaggle of apathetic fathers and increasingly dis-interested children.

In total, we spent about 2 hours there and saw...very little. Might I suggest we empty the contents of every U.S. zoo (San Diego, Grand Rapids, etc) and house all of the animals in a large expanse of land right in the middle of the country. Kansas perhaps. It's flat and within 3 hours of most North American airports. Where better to see the fascinating results of evolution?

Anyway, Jack seemed to enjoy himself, mainly through people-watching.