On our second day of vacation, we had a big one ahead of us: The San Diego Zoo! The last time we were here, Nolan was just 6 months old, so it was exciting to know both kids would be way more into the animals and sights. We left early for the zoo opening, and decided to spend as long as we needed or the kids' allowed before melting down. They did great, and we lasted until about 2pm before heading back for naps, even with Acelyn taking a catnap here and there throughout the early afternoon.
When we arrived, we snapped some pictures at the entrance and grabbed our maps to get started. I had made a rough itinerary earlier to make our day go a little smoother, and I'm so glad I did since we saw many people throughout the day asking, "Have we been here!? Where should we go now!?" I'm such a planner and love when things go as planned, and today was no exception. It definitely helped for us to see the majority of the huge zoo in the short amount of time we were there!
First up was the Outback section of the zoo, where koalas greeted us as we entered the exhibit. The first one we saw was super active and so, SO cute. These easily became the kids (and my) favorites of the day. Watching them cuddled tight in the trees was adorable and I wanted to snuggle each and every one of them.
We came around the corner to the giraffes next, and Acelyn was all about them. I was bummed because we were looking forward to feeding them, but they only offer that on the weekends and we were visiting on a Monday. Next time! There was a baby giraffe that Acelyn spotted right away, and we loved watching her follow her Mama around the entire time.
There were tons of flamingos that had no fear and came pretty close to the fence, and I loved seeing their colors up so close.
We passed rhinos and then some leopards playing together, which Nolan enjoyed watching. On our walk to the next section, we saw different types of bears, all leading up to the most popular attraction at the zoo: the panda bears!
We were able to see two of the three giant pandas, Bai Yun who was walking around doing circles and playing in the water, and Xiao Liwu, the baby born in 2012, taking a snooze in a tree. These are another favorite of mine, and another I just want to snuggle the heck out of because they look SO FLUFFY!
We took a quick pitstop at the bathrooms, and Acelyn admired the ducks and waterfalls directly across while we waited for Grandma and Nolan.
Making our way uphill to the Northern Frontier, we struggled getting up the major hills while pushing the stroller... like seriously, no joke massive hills. We survived, and rewarded ourselves with some playtime by the polar bear exhibit, even though we only got a quick glimpse of the polar bear before he went in the back for some shade.
Continuing to Elephant Odyssey, we peeked in on a lion napping and watched the one elephant snacking on some hay. It made for a perfect break for some lunch before continuing on with the second half of the zoo.
After lunch, we met with all the different types of gorillas and monkeys, which was definitely the highlight for Acelyn. She was a little terrified of the gorillas (they are HUGE, I can't blame her!) and was even a little scared of the pretend ones for the kids to play on.
When we reached the gorilla exhibit, there were so many people, and a few of the gorillas were right up against the glass. They were eating up the attention and just hanging out, one with his back facing us and the other, facing straight forward snacking on some leaves. I could watch these guys for hours, they are so cool and so human-like. One male gorilla got upset about something, and ran straight back to the behind the scenes doors and slammed on them SO hard, that it made everyone a little jumpy. He cooled down and wandered back around, but after that, Acelyn said "Heck no" to anymore gorilla action!
Directly across from the gorilla exhibit were the hippos, where the kids absolutely loved following this one swimming around.
We came across lots and lots more chimps and monkeys as we made our way down the Monkey Trail. Acelyn was loving the smaller ones, compared to the big gorillas, and the chimps were some of her favorite! Most of them were moving around a ton and further away, but this guy was living his best life having the best nap right against the glass. The foot hold killed me!
Down the Monkey Trail, we passed through an aviary with lots of ducks and birds, and even though I thought the kids wouldn't really be interested in this, they totally were. I came inches away from being pooped on, and Acelyn loved pointing to all the birdies she saw flying around!
We finally made our way back to the front of the zoo, where we took a quick visit to the Children's Zoo in Discovery Outpost for the kids to get up close with the animals at the petting zoo. Unfortunately, there were only a few goats out because it was pretty warm, so we got some quick pets in and said "Bye!" to the San Diego Zoo.
After some naps at the hotel and getting cleaned up, we took a visit over to Old Town. The kids had never been here, and both my Mom and I had only been once many years ago, so we really didn't remember too much about it. When we got there, we entered through Old Town Market and Fiesta de Reyes, and found a couple fun stores for the kids to grab some souvenir gifts for our time in San Diego. It was brightly decorated and had such a Coco vibe, which of course, Acelyn loved. She continued to yell, "Coco!" with every new turn we took. There was traditional dancing and music, and even tortillas being made from scratch.
I promised Nolan we would try to find the Old Town Candy store, so we hurried over there right after dinner. He felt like he hit the jackpot when we walked in, and we loaded up on some jelly beans, salt water taffy, and some classic candies. I wanted to splurge on some fudge because it looked amazing, but I held back!
Before our departure out, we stopped to watch some traditional dancing back at Fiesta de Reyes, while the kids snacked on some of their goodies. They loved watching the dancers and even got up to do a little bit of their own moves.
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