Lilyana is fascinated by animals. A few of her early words were "duck", "dog", and "bird". When she sees dogs while we take our regular evening strolls, she practically jumps out of her stroller to get a better look, and if barks or howls, she barks or howls right back. She gets tickled pink when she hears the birds singing in the morning and she watches with so much wonder and amazement as they fly over her.
With so much interest in someone so small we decided that she needed a visit to the zoo. We mapped out our route the night before, charged up both cameras and hit the sack early. Up before the sun, we were showered, dressed, packed and in the car...each one of us looking forward to our big day.
Food always comes first, so Ben took us to a delightful little cafe in San Francisco. Run by an elderly French gentleman, the little place smelled so scrumptious! We ordered a pot of loose leaf tea and crêpes. Absolutely fantastic!
Conversations with daddy are always enlightening.
Tea! Actually, she was leaning over the cup saying, "Hot...hot..."
Lilyana had some food on the drive over, but that didn't stop her from being interested in the food before her!
"My turn! A bite for daddy, a bigger bite for me!"
After our delicious breakfast, we found the zoo.
Daddy was trying to show Lilyana the animals, but she was more interested in the weird plants next to her.
He finally got her to look at the giraffe. She looked at him for a bit, then once he started moving and she realized he was real...
...her face lit up and she was ecstatic!
Love her expressions. She did this every time she saw an animal she didn't recognize. It never got old.
She didn't want to leave the giraffe, but there were other animals to meet!
Besides, he was wandering off, too.
A map!
Lilyana was giving her input on where we should go next.
BIRDS!
Oh, back to the giraffes!
She loved them.
Deep thoughts.
Funny flamingos.
She wasn't sure what to make of them...she was going back and forth on their names...Duck? Bird? So confused!
FOOD!!!!
We had to pass by the food area several times, which was making us all very hungry. A great outdoor grill with brats, chicken and veggies cooking all day...
This squirrel knows where to find leftovers.
We found the monkeys and Lilyana had fun copying their noises. Except for the really, really loud ones...she didn't like being very close to those ones.
Then it was off to the "farm!"
Ducks!
She looked at the pigs for a second, and then looked up at Ben and said, "Wooh-wee..." which is what she says when she has a dirty diaper or smells something bad.
"Dog?"
She thought his tail was funny.
A little cowgirl in the wild west.
I've got to figure out what kind of succulents these are! I have so many places where they could grow.....
At this point, our tired little baby fell asleep. So, she missed....
...the rhinoceros...
...the Tropical Birds...
...and the first trip by the penguins. Not to mention the lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!)...hippos, and peacocks. But that's okay, we have the annual pass, so we'll be back!
She woke up in time to watch the penguins get dinner...
...and then we left to get our own dinner! A goooood meal with a nice view! It was foggy that day, so you can't really see the bay out there. :(
Clam Chowder in a San Francisco Sourdough bread bowl!!! YUM! Great...now I want some more...
Before we started the long trek back home, we decided to get a nice hot drink to keep us warm. Where do you go for that?
Ghirardelli, of course!!
And then we got in line to drive on the curviest road in the world...
It's hard to see the angle that we were at, but it almost felt like we were laying down.
Yup! A drive down Lombard Street! The Google Car has been down this road...
And they mean it.
When we go back, I'll get a shot from the bottom so you can get a better idea of how curvy the road is...and we'll walk down! :)
I hope you enjoy these two videos of Lilyana at the zoo!
