Trip Report Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

[Melonballer]

Hi everyone. When I last went to Woodland Park Zoo it was crowded and I had a hard time getting pictures I really liked. This time, armed with a rag to clean the glass of little kids' finger and face prints and the promise of kids in school, I hoped to get some quality pictures.

When I got to Seattle in the morning it was still foggy.



Before going to the zoo I wanted to get an early lunch from a place I had heard of from TV. If you saw the Man Vs. Food episode from Seattle you have heard of Red Mill Burgers. I looked them up and discovered that they were only 10 blocks north of the zoo, so a trip seemed like a good idea.













I got there right after opening, so there was less than 10 people there at the time. You order your food at the front counter and when it is ready they call your name. I ordered the cheeseburger, Chocolate shake, and french fries. The food was delicious. It was one of the best burgers I have ever had. I thought that this is what the food at Arnold's on Happy Days must have tasted like.



By the time I left the place was getting crowded as the lunch rush was starting. From here on out I am going there before the zoo. Very reasonable prices and great food.



Coming up: I get to the zoo!

[Melonballer]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Ok the first thing I did when I got to the zoo was head to see the jaguar. Last time I had problems with reflections and fingerprints on the glass. Unfortunately light was still a problem.



So I headed indoors to the rainforest exhibits. First some flowers.

















Well I did not have much luck inside either.

The Ocelot.





Just about every picture I took of this toucan was blurry or had a lot of glare on the glass.



So off to the reptile house I went. One of the goals for this trip was to get a decent pic of the Poison Dart Frogs.



I wish that leaf had not been in the way.



A leaf tortise I think. I reminds me of ET.



I loved the yellow of this snake. I did not notice his friend until after I got home and was looking at my pictures.



Golden Frog. Another animal I did not get a good shot of last visit.



Coming up soon: Kittehs! Birdies! Godless Killing Machines! And cute furry things!

[Coheteboy]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Very fun!

[Melonballer]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Ok so the main reason I went to the zoo was to see the 2 new Snow Leopard cubs. Unfortunately, they were not on display that day.
Here is one of the adults though.



Great Horned Owl. I love raptors. One of the neat things is how often you can see them without walls, screens, or glass between you. Makes for better pictures.



Then I headed to see the Orangutangs. This one was drawing with chalk on cardboard.





Flower on the way.



A Godless Killing Machine.



Mountain Goat.



The wolves are always out of sight. So this helped make up for the leopard cubs not being available.



A weaver bird.



Hippos. I am proud of the fact I am not making the normal Jungle Cruise joke.







Old Lion Statue.



The Bengal Tiger was finally awake.





More coming.

[I Heart Disneyland]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Funny! This is sort of how I felt today!



Great shots, Anthony! And, I love the ones of the hippos. They look SO much like JC that I almost thought you tossed in a couple to be funny! ha!

[Melonballer]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Another thing I was unhappy with last trip were my penguin pictures. I set out to do better. Like I said earlier I had brought a rag to clean the glass of all the little fingerprints and such. I also set up my tripod to hopefully alleviate some of the shaking.

The portal.



Closer.







I am much happier this time. Funny thing. The penguins loved it when I was wiping the window. They would swarm over to see what I was doing. The probably missed cleaning tables for Mary Poppins.

Well back to the rainforest exhibit to see if I could get a better picture of the ocelot.



Bird. I really need to remember to look at the info panel for this guy so that I know what kind of bird he is.



Much Better Ocelot pic.



Flamingoes.



Right across from the Flamingoes is one of the older exhibits. I have never really seen this animal as they are usually sleeping high in a tree when I visit. Today they were up and about. Once again this helped with the cub disappointment.

RED PANDAS!







Hornbill.



He was over in one of the older, less visited sections of the zoo. I kind of feel like this area is where they should go through next and improve.

On the Savanah area the giraffes were not out.



Gorillas.





Finally I went back to check in with the Jaguar to see if I could get a decent picture.





Well that was it. Time to leave to catch a ferry.

Almost forgot.



Qwest Field and Safeco Field.



Ok I have 2 more actually. On the way home the the sea lions were out and about.





And that is it. Thanks for reading.

[miapoepia]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great TR, I remembered the 1st one as well! Red Mill Burgers looks awesome . I'm going to Texas next month(for work) and I have a place I'm going to that I found on Diners,Drive-ins and Dives.

[vfire]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great TR, thanks for sharing.

[DonDuck]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great animal and flower shots!

[micksgal]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great report Anthony!!! Next time you go, give me a call and I will meet you there. I love that zoo. Great Great photos, you need to teach me some of your tricks!!

[RooBear]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Very cool--I love zoos. THanks for sharing.

What's wrong with being a godless killing machine? I'm a bear, and I'm kind!

Usually!

peace,
Roo

[OC2Epcot]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great pictures ... I've been to that zoo before, many years ago.

[MsSarah]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Looks like you had a great time! Some of those animals look like statues!

[seenoevil]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Wonderful report, thanks so much!

[TikiRoomLiz]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Great food and a great zoo, I'm sold! Your pictures came out great, especially the ones with the penguin.

[Mary Read]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Terrific pictures!

[penguinsoda]

Re: Melonballer goes to the Zoo, again.

Very cool! Of course the penguins were my fav!