Tuesday, May 28, 2013

robgirlbooks' Flash Review Marathon (part 3) Oregon Zoo

My reviews tend to go on and on with fangirl love. I thought I'd try something different. This week I plan to share speedy blogger love that spans books, movies, and even a zoo.

Oregon Zoo is 64 acres of awesomeness. We drove down from Washington to Portland, Oregon. My 4 yr old couldn't wait to see the hippos. I really wanted to catch the flamingos. My eleven year old couldn't wait to get the special car toy that accompanies road trips. We expected 72 degree weather. It was 89. Yikes! We started off with easy directions from the website and then excellent road signs directing us to the alternate lot since the main one was full. The prices are great since it's such a big zoo. Then we walked for four hours, moving from one exhibit and habitat to the next. Eagles so close I couldn't believe how big they are. Polar Bears swimming and lazying around. Turtles and sea otters. Two mountain lions (wow, those guys are HUGE). Lions, tigers, leopards. Oh, bears. We saw bears and of course hippos. Giraffes (my mom's favorite). Flamingos, much smaller than they look on TV. My favorite by far has to be the bats. Oh man, they were huge and all wrapped up and hanging there. I could have stayed there for hours. Oh, oh, we saw an anaconda. Sheesh. There was a room so hot and humid I have no idea what was in it. I walked right through without stopping. After hours of walking (and at a brisk pace) we still didn't see everything. If you can fit Oregon Zoo into a trip to the Pacific Northwest, do it.

As a little side note, I'd like to thank my friend and fellow author/blogger, Cat McHahon, for posting her video of Oregon Zoo because I caught it on Google+ and planned our trip that very weekend.



7 comments:

  1. Amazing! You guys are really having a good time. Last time I went to a zoo was 2009. Among the animals you mentioned, I think the ones I haven't seen yet are flamingos, eagles, tigers, leopards, polar bears, anacondas. (I've not seen a lot of animals) :(

    And you guys still didn't see anything. Well, Oregon zoo must really be a huge one.

    Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. We have a pass to our little zoo here so we go maybe twenty times a year. In the winter we have what's called zoo lights and the whole place is decorated with holiday lights. But the Oregon Zoo was so big. The anaconda was the freakiest sight because there it was in the water! I spent half my childhood in the water and just the thought of a big snake like that swimming around. NO WAY! What animals did you get to see? The big draws for our little zoo are the meerkats, lemurs, Sumatran tigers, and red wolves.

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    2. I got to see the usual ones: lions, monkeys, hippos, snakes, parrots and other cool birds. So far in my life, I think I've been to the zoo only two times. :(

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  2. Zane and I love zoos. So far we have been to 6 or 7 different ones. They all offer something a little different. The eagles you mentioned sound really neat. Not sure how I'd have felt about the anaconda though. I haven't seen a polar bear yet so if we are ever in the area, we will definitely check it out! Thank you so much for sharing! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. I haven't been to that many zoos. I did go to Seaworld in San Diego years ago. You gave me a great idea for an upcoming trip. We could add the zoo to our activities. We have two polar bears here in Tacoma, but they're usually sleeping on the rocks far from the glass. There was one sleeping right there up close in Oregon and its paws were humongous!

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  3. Glad you had fun! That is so cool that you saw polar bears! I'm sure it's one of the animals not all zoos have. I would have been very scared walking through the room, thinking something like a snake would pop up lol

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    1. Talk about scared, I couldn't even go in the bug room. I walked in, saw creepy crawlies and walked right back out.

      The polar bears are a sight to see. I don't know how they manage with all that fur when it's not ice cold out. I guess they keep the water extra chilly. The neatest animal I've seen (other than the bats) are the Sumatran Tigers because our town is on the breeding list so we have little guys cuddling up to their stuffed animals, yawning and falling over. So cute!

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