Michael at the Toledo Zoo

(click on pictures for bigger ones)

Trip 1 - July 11, 2000:

Karen (Michael's nurse) and I took Michael to the zoo.  It was a blast.  Not realizing that the zoo closed at 6, we arrived at 4 giving us only 2 hours.  Our first stop was the primates.  Michael really seemed to enjoy the monkeys :o)  His awareness gets better & better ever time I see him.  He watched all of the animals moving around and followed them with his eyes,  As long as we kept him occupied he was just fine.

After the small little Monkeys, we continued on to the big orangutans and apes and gorillas.  On the way there, we watched the choo-choo go past.  Most of the big monkeys were facing away from us, but one gorilla put on a show for us by swinging on his swing past the window.  Michael watched intently & loved it :o)

Then we continued on to the aquarium.  We saw bunches of fishes -- piranhas, eels, big fish, little fish, turtles, jelly fish, sharks.  All of them were pretty cool, and I think Michael thought so too.  We came across this huge blue bubble lamp sorta thing. Michael just loved that!  We could have stood there forever watching it.  He followed the bubbles up to the top with his eyes & was very interested in it.  Then we saw the rest of the fish & that's when the announcement came: "The park closes in 30 minutes; make your way toward the exit."  We weren't too thrilled about that because we hadn't seen too much yet.  We headed toward the exits. 

Here's a picture of Michael & I on the walkway overpass.  He's kinda tired after all the excitement:

 Karen bought Michael a new shirt at the Zoo's gift shop.  Isn't he cute? :o)

 Thanks, Karen, for all your help & for taking the pictures.

Trip 2 - August 11, 2000

Michael was doing pretty good today. He was a little more "ouchy" then usual, but not too bad at all. (He did really well -- esp. at the zoo where he got stimulation.)
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We went to the zoo today!! Michael, Karen & I got there around 4:15 & stayed till closing time! Today we saw the African Safari exhibits! First, we came across the hippos. For those of you not from around Toledo, we got a new baby hippo at the zoo! Just born last week! Unfortunately, it was not on exhibit when we went (I think it was being fed). We did get to see the daddy hippo though! Its huge!! 

We continued along the trail & came to the elephants. Karen tried to take a picture there, but we were out of film! (I'm going to get some more film & we'll go back again!) Michael really watched the elephants & tracked them well! I think they were one of his favorites. On the other side of the trail were some antelope (they're not antelope, but can't remember the name). 
We came to a gate right before the building. There was another great view of the elephants here, and Michael was very calm and watched them eat the straw while I told him about them & what they were doing.
Inside, (it smelled LOL) we first came to some African birds. I took Michael inside the room to get a better view. The colors were beautiful! Bright reds, greens & blues! He watched, followed and moved his head as they flew over head, landed in trees, and chirped & squawked. This was another one of Michael's favorites for sure! He was so content. I'm sure it was all the movement & the bright colors that he enjoyed!
Back in the main room was a giraffe! Huge 12 ft one eating some straw. Michael looked waaaaaaaay up there at it.
Outside the building was a small caged area with 3 Colombo(?) Monkeys. They were the same kind we saw on our first visit.
Right across the way were 2 rhinos! Wow! What big horns. Michael watched them eat (what else?) but more straw! 
Next, we came to some Meerkats. Cute little prarie-dog like animals. This is another exhibit that we'll need to return to for pictures! They have it set up so that they can come right up to the glass on ground level. I stood Michael up gently straddling my leg and let him watch the MeerKats digging thru the sand! The way Michael looked at them, so interested -- it was very special. He's such a bright & aware kid. This was definitely his favorite, I would think. Its moments like these that I love -- he's so special to me.
Last, we saw mommy & daddy lion. They didn't come very close, they were both resting up on the hill. The female lion stuck her tongue out at some lady and she did the same back to her. LOL
What a day!!!! It was wonderful. 

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