Toronto Zoo!

Today we slowly (and unhappily) woke up after a late night last night! The hotel had a continental breakfast that we enjoyed around 8:45.  After breakfast we finished getting ready and headed to the zoo! We got a rad but lost (I think we turned the wrong direction on the first turn - oops) BUT we found our way and made it to the zoo around 11:00.  We got a 20% discount from our hotel - yay! so we paid less than we expected!  First bummer for RJ - no elephants. Boo hiss!!  We got a map and started making our way around the zoo.  We got to the zoo just in time to watch a birds of prey show.  It was so cool with big birds flying right over our heads!!

 

First stop in the zoo - seeing the polar bears being fed!  We learned that although they appear white their actual skin is black and they can adapt to different climates.  Such a neat experience!  First some fish then a frozen cantaloupe!  There was a video crew there taping the feeding for some show!

We checked out lots of animals including the zebras and hippos before then getting to watch the lions be fed and also learned some facts about them! 

We learned that white lions are close to extinction and they possess a recessive gene.  They are working on increasing their population in captivity with hopes to bring them back into their natural habitat.  Interesting to hear... the female lion does all the hunting but allows the male to eat first! Less selfish then me, lol!! It was funny to hear that the mating woman lion had cubs and has not lost her baby weight because she will hunt anything and everything that may enter her area and chomp to her hearts delight!  She was also the first (before the male) to come for her snack! 

Saw some more animals including turtles, exotic birds, and gorillas.  We stopped to see the giraffes get fed! We learned that they stay pregnant for 15 months, their babies are born around 6 feet tall and double their height within their first year of life.  So cool! Also, the tallest giraffe was documented as 19 feet tall and giraffes weigh approximately 1500-2000 pounds! 

We found the elephants... sad little boy for no REAL elephants... but happy to sit on a stone elephant!

The kids climbed around for almost an hour acting like gorillas!  They had a blast!  Right after they got off the gorilla ropes the peacock who was wandering the zoo grounds gave us a beautiful display!

We saw a tiger, a mountain lion, and a cheetah... all sleeping!

Wow cool was this?!

Feeding the fish!  Another neat experience!

Some more shots from the zoo...

 

I thought these hairy camels were great!

We also thought the sculptures were cool looking but kinda sad that they were all made from trash pulled out of the ocean!

We left the zoo around 6 and headed to supper. After eating a ‘do it yourself’ sundae came with the kids’ meals!  Yum!

After supper we headed back to the hotel to relax for a little while before hitting the hay.

Busy Niagara Falls day! (Part 1)

Got up this morning, enjoyed the continental breakfast (although it was super crowded)!  Packed up our bags and headed on our way to start an eventful fun-filled day!  First stop- LONG line to buy our tickets for our day including the walk along the rapids, a 3D movie experience, the walk under the falls, and the Hornblower boat cruise to see an up close and personal view of the falls!

First thing to do... take a bus ride to the ‘boardwalk’ to see the class 6 rapids.  We learned that class 6 rapids are really not traveled as it is nearly impossible to survive the turbulence of the rapids!  The boardwalk ran along side of the rapids and provided little facts along the way.  For example the brown looking foam that is viewed is that color by the minerals and debris carried through the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop - under the falls tour. We were provided a poncho for this experience. There were two ‘look out’ coves but all you really saw was a sheet of heavy water falling from above.  Then we headed to an observation deck where we got soaked! The wind and the amount of spray from the falls was insanely amazing!!  So up close!

We then caught the 3D movie about how the falls were made.  It was animated so it was a fun little cartoon to watch.  Then we headed into a room where the 3D came into effect.  (Did I mention we got ponchos to wear again!). The floor shook and we got sprayed with water as we watched the erosion of the ground occur causing the canyons for the falls.  I think it was a cool experience although RJ did not enjoy the experience.

We finally headed to the Hornblower cruise.  It really wasn’t much of a wait! We walked through the lines and maybe waited 5 minutes for the boat to return and unload?! Not a bad wait!  We made sure to put on our ponchos and Morgan and I safely got our cameras in their waterproof bags!  Wow... as we got closer the temperature started to get cooler and we had a slight mist coming into our faces... but then... UP CLOSE and DRENCHED!!!  Drenched may be an understatement!!  It was amazing!  To see and hear the falls!  (Again RJ did not like the experience at all because it got windy and the boat was a little rocky.)  Bob/Daddy LOVED it!  His expressions were amazing and I wish I could have bottled his pour joy in the moments of this boat ride!

New York Side

Canada Side

Wow!  What an amazing experience... with the night still to come!