Zoo Date With Kyle

One of the great things about living in Dallas is that we are much closer to some friends.  Brett and Kyle both were going through pilot training in Del Rio, and now Kyle is in Oklahoma City for a little while.  He was planning to come down for a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo, which I guess is one of the better ones in the country.  You know how I feel about zoos, so we met up with him in Fort Worth.

Emmy took to Kyle pretty quickly.  She played hard to get at first, but as soon as he bought her a Dippin' Dots, the ice cream of the future, she was pretty committed to the relationship.  She ate her banana split flavor, but also wanted to try his mint chocolate chip.

The zoo itself was pretty cool!  They seemed to have a lot of baby animals in the exhibits, which added a cool dynamic to the habitats.  In Memphis, while the zoo was amazing, I never felt like the animals that shared habitats were family.  My favorite, the gorillas, were awesome to watch.  The big male and a female were napping and holding hands.  I didn't get my camera out quick enough to capture it though.

They had a little baby running around, too.  It was climbing all over the male, and the big guy just playfully would try grabbing him.  It was cool to see their family dynamic and relationship.

Emmy liked the giraffes, and I liked that they actually had grass.  In Memphis, the giraffes were just on a big patch of dirt and concrete.

Cory always likes the elephants.  There was a baby elephant, too, but it was kind of hiding off in the distance and hard to see.

They had a white tiger, too.  I learned from the sign on the wall that white tigers are not a separate species.  It is just a recessive gene, so it is like a red-haired human.  All white tigers in captivity, though, are descended from a single progenitor.

There was a section called Australia's Great Barrier reef, and the first tank when we walked in had Marlin, Nemo, and Dory swimming around.  It was kind of funny.

I forget how big bald eagles are when I see them.  They could easily pick up a small child.

Emmy liked watching the penguins, too.  She obviously thought they had a very special bond.  The penguins never seemed to reciprocate her affection.

It was fun to spend the day with Kyle.  We went out for some Torchy's Tacos afterward, and then he headed off to Six Flags.  He came over to our place afterward to visit some more, and Emmy was excited to see him.  Hopefully we can see each other more often since we are closer now.