Uptown to the Zoo

While walking the French Quarter was a lot of fun, taking the St Charles streetcar Uptown was even better. The breeze through the open windows was almost refreshing, and sitting back and watching was a great alternative to all of that walking.
The streetcar went along with traffic, so there was a lot of stopping and going. We had to hold on tight.

This streetcar was an antique. It was neat to watch the operator pull the different levers.

And then we stopped at a corner and the operator hopped out and stepped into a corner market. He was gone for a good 10 minutes, without giving a word of warning.

Then he came back. With his lunch. And we kept on going.

The line went though the Garden District, where this was the average home. Gorgeous.

Liam took a snooze on the way.

We got off at Audobon Park and walked the mile to the zoo. They have a "shuttle", which is really just a small SUV that can only take 4 people at a time... There were others, so we walked.

We're glad we did. This park was beautiful. Full of these amazing trees.

Liam was really happy to get to the zoo. It had been 6 months since our San Diego Zoo trip. He enjoyed it then, but he seems to be old enough now to really get excited about the animals.

Here he is, pointing out our first stop.

Growing up with the San Diego Zoo as my standard, I guess some may call me a zoo snob. I was so impressed with this zoo. It was beautiful: lots of bronze scultpures, incredible landscaping, gorgeous fountains, and, most important of all, great animal exhibits.

Liam thought this little elephant was just his size.

Getting to touch the real elephant was a little scary for him, but he smiled when he felt the elephants bristly skin.

It was such a hot day that most of the animals were napping, but a few were still out and about. It was so much fun to see Liam eagerly look for animals in each enclosure.

But it was sure a hot day to be outside in the sun.

The reptile house seemed to be one of Liam's favorites. Besides the fact that it was dimly lit and air conditioned, it was full of snakes, lizards, and turtles. Liam really enjoyed looking and finding the creatures in each tank... I'm afraid he may be one of those boys.

Because we're in Louisiana, here is an alligator:

And because we're in New Orleans, well...

He thought this was realy funny. Being a seal.

And then he tried to climb through it...

He wasn't so sure about touching the snake. They're definitely better behind glass. That's right.

Meeting some goats in the petting zoo.

He felt safer petting the sheep behind the fence.

And because we were roasting hot (have I mentioned that yet?) some sorbet was definitely in order. It was too much of a cold shock for Liam at first.

But he settled into it just fine.