Points for Minneapolis

The Como Zoo is open!! Well, as those who live here know, the Como Zoo is actually never closed - it does stay open all year round, and we kept going as late as October last year, when all the animals were huddled inside and most people stayed at home. Maymuna was actually wearing mittens the last time I was there. This is one of my favourite places in the Twin Cities. Today Minnesota's best free park was alive and well, and it was gorgeous day outside. We packed a lunch and set off to see the "aminals" as Maymuna puts it.

The grounds of the zoo are spectular in and of themselves, with lots of green spaces, a green house, an old fashioned merry-go-round and a large park with over a dozen pinic tables and a big play structure. We parked a bit of ways away, but sure enjoyed the walk over to the main exhibit. Here are some photos of the grounds, including one of Ozayr and Maymuna waiting to be sprayed by the water sprinkler in aid of cooling off...


The place was packed as I think I mentioned, but Maymuna wasn't really fazed, she has her Baba to help navigate the crowds and she doesn't dare let go of his hand! It's a sweet little zoo, with as much to entertain you as in a larger one. We paid tons of money to get into the Minnesota Zoo last year when Daniel was in town and it really wasn't any nicer than this one. Here they have a couple of zebra... couple of giraffes... a tiger... two lions... and monkeys. Those are Maymuna's main interests (and really for her one tiger is just as fascinating as multiple breeds of tigers or a sizable number of them). Plus they have seals, polar bears and some other wildcats.


It's a manageable size for a two-year-old - she can walk the whole thing without getting too tired and the exhibits are all pretty close together which prevent her from losing interest in the whole thing. But it's also free, so you don't feel bad if you skip stuff or don't catch the aquatic show, or go through it quickly.

Speaking of interested, it was Hafsa's very first time at the zoo today! Amazing, this child was so riveted... so in tune with the wildlife... so... asleep. This is what she looked like the entire time we were there:


Oh well, she's got plenty of time to see it... I'm sure we'll be back to the Como Zoo about eight million times more this summer :)

After a leisurely walk through the zoo we stopped to eat our lunch under a shady tree. We just sort of sat and watched the people walk by and enjoyed the fine weather. It was quite lovely, actually.


Well, I just wanted to share our lovely morning with everyone... I hope the weather in Ottawa/Johannesburg is all just as nice (though I bet the animals are better there...)