Louisville Zoo

We said good-bye to my family in Indiana Sunday night, and headed down to Kentucky. It was a short, pleasant 2 hour drive to Kevin's sister's place in Shelbyville, KY. We had plans to go to the Louisville Zoo on Monday but it started storming in the morning so we weren't sure if it was going to work out at first. Thankfully it cleared up around noon time and the rest of the day was clear. Kaelyn was VERY excited to be going to "see animals" as we explained it to her. We tried to give her a play-by-play of what was happening next on every little part of the trip and that seemed to help her cope better with being here, there, and everywhere. She would wake up each morning and say, "Um, what's next Mommy?" :)


Kay on a rhino statute. (Notice the map - or as she
called it "my mat" - in her hand.) She dutifully
held on to one the whole time and pored over it like
she knew exactly what it said and what it was for.
I suppose she was fascinated with the pictures.


The 3 of us by the giraffes.


I love seeing the beautiful non-Florida landscape
when we head anywhere out of the state.


Kaelyn and her cousin Larissa


We got to see several baby animals including a
giraffe and this elephant. The baby elephant
kept climbing into the water, rolling around,
and splashing water out with his trunk. It was
so cute! I don't think I've seen one that active
before.


He almost looks like a statute here.


We watched the gorillas for quite a while - such
funny creatures!


This guy was HUGE though the picture
doesn't really give a good perspective.


The zoo had a nice water area complete with two
small slides, fountains, etc. I had taken Kaelyn's
bathing suit just in case they had something like
that (it seems like a lot of zoos do) and we were
glad we had it with us. She had a blast playing
in the water and then we took a break for ice
cream/snacks while she dried off a bit. (Yeah,
we thought to take a b. suit but not a towel.) :)


This is an albino alligator that came from
where else but Florida. His name is King
Louie - not sure why. The albino gators are
not that common. He almost looked fake
like a cement lawn ornament I thought.


This was the weirdest snake. You can't
tell by the pic. but it was an aqua blue
color and I thought the way it was
hanging from the branch looked so weird.
I think it was from the Amazon. It's a type
of Python and it hangs from branches just like
that and then drops on people/things as they
walk by underneath. It makes me shudder
to think about it!


The aviary was closed in at the top but
open all around as you walked through
it. This bird was just inches away as I
walked by so I was able to get a really
close-up picture.


Kay-Kay and I watching the penguins.
I find them so amusing to watch. They're
so awkward when they walk on land but
are absolutely graceful in the water.

The 3 of us at the entrance to the zoo.