A day at the zoo

So the weather here in Chattanooga has jumped from frigid to toasty in about three days. Last week we were huddled up in the house with sweaters and scarves,. Today the doors and windows are wide open and the thermometer inside reads 78 degrees, with no help from the heater. So we took advantage of the nice day yesterday and did something we have been meaning to do for a while- go to the local zoo. Chattanooga is not known for its great zoo- they seem to have put all their time and energy into the aquarium. The zoo however, is actually affordable, and it doesn't take that much to impress a three and almost two year old.
It really wasn't a bad little zoo, if you could ignore the fact that it was stuck in the middle of a busy city, surrounded by loud trains and the sounds of sirens and trucks from the nearby highway. The boys actually seemed most interested in the choo choos.
We adults were particularly impressed by the birds- talking parrots, preening peacocks, turkeys, hawks, owls and some crazy African cranes with pom poms on their heads. They also had a lovely display of local crows! Who goes to the zoo to see crows? They may be my least favorite birds.
They had some cool cats too- a snow leopard, a jaguar, a cougar and other big felines. Unfortunately, they were all napping, so not much action. They had the usual chimps and a reptile house etc.- oh, and camels. Those are weird looking creatures I must say. As are the ugly hyenas they had. Yuck. Anyways- I took some videos, but was unable to upload them. I will leave it to your imagination to hear the parrot talking, the peacock showing off his feathers for a lady turkey, and Etienne chasing the goats in the petting zoo and calling them dogs. I did take a few photos though.