The zoo opens at 9 am and we got there about 15 minutes early. We were able to find free street parking right outside the entrance at that time. Also the zoo is free which is awesome! Some of the attractions cost money but both the children's zoo and carousel are free the first hour.
We went to the children's zoo first. There is a cool see-through slide through the otter exhibit. I think the boys were able to time it so they slid down with an otter near by.
Next we headed over to the carousel while it was still free but we had to stop on the way and watch this playful polar bear! So cool!
All the boys (Gray on a gorilla, Rylan on a black leopard, and Carter on a penguin) ...
I rode on the Somali wild ass :) next to Carter ...
The penguins were one of our favorite exhibits (they had both an indoor and outdoor section). Carter and Rylan both did large units on penguins at school so there were able to tell us about the different types (like rockhopper, emperor, etc).
The one thing we did pay for at the zoo was the sea lion show. Because they are in "Spring Training", it was only $2/person. The show was probably a little shorter than normal, but still really good and probably the perfect length for Grayson. We made sure to arrive early and snagged some seats on the first row in the middle!!!
Hippos hanging out underwater :)
The St. Louis Zoo is huge! We saw so many animals (we even skipped some sections and still spent over 6 hours there). It makes the Nashville Zoo seem very lame :)
After we finished at the zoo, the boys needed a little sugar to keep going (we had walked a ton with no complaining). So we went to get yogurt at Orange Leaf.
Afterwards we returned to Forest Park and went to the Wonderland Playground. This brave boy loves him some slides!!!
Three very happy boys :)
After the playground the boys did what they like best - played with sticks around some rocks. We never stay on a playground for long :) While playing around the large rocks, Carter and Rylan randomly found a geocache. Rylan was so excited!
After an hour or so of playing we decided to get some dinner. This time we tried out Fitz's Root Beer. It was voted one of the best restaurants for kids in St. Louis when I was looking up places to eat before our trip and since it's only a few minutes from Forest Park, it was an easy choice for dinner.
Fitz's bottles their root beer on site and you can watch the bottling process as you eat.
Plus their food was surprisingly amazing! I got a turkey club and didn't expect much but it was the BEST turkey I've ever had.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel. It was a little later and Brian and I didn't have the energy for the pool again. Apparently the boys didn't either. Carter and Rylan sat on a bed and silently watched a show for an hour. They are usually crazy in the hotel room but we actually wore them out (which is nearly impossible to do!).
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