San Diego Zoo

Koala
Meerkat

Giraffe

Kangaroo

Grizzly Bear

Sloth Bear

Mountain Lion

Black Jaguar

California Condor

"When you see one, you just know it."

Antelope

The supermodel of antelopes.

Polar Bear

Zebra

Panda Bear

A one week old flamingo!

My first date with Laura was to Atlanta Zoo. As such, we knew that when we were in San Diego we had to devote an entire day to the San Diego Zoo, arguably the best in the country by reputation.

The reputation was well-deserved. Laura and I had a great time. The zoo itself was massive. We were there from 9-3 and didn't even see everything. Beyond it's size, the exhibits are constructed so the visitors are extremely close to the animals. Our most harrowing experience was seeing a mountain lion pace back and forth, staring me in the eyes and growling at me. We were so close that if I reached out my hand, I could have put my fingres in the cage.

The most amazing part of the zoo was how active the animals were. I don't now if it was the Southern California weather, or being there during the early part of the day, but almost every animal was moving around. We saw everything from koalas, pandas, grizzlies, black jaguars, polar bears, and monkeys moving around and playing. Most memorable was the polar bear that was playing with a beach ball in the pond in its exhibit for almost twenty minutes.