The Memphis Zoo

Hey look!
Originally uploaded by ephcee.

Yesterday we took a spontaneous trip to the Memphis Zoo with the two little ones and my grandmother. I've uploaded a mere apetizer of the pictures as I have reached my limit for this month, so you'll have to wait until Monday for more.

It was very cool and though we missed the rhinos and the elephants were hiding, it was still very nifty. I even had my picture taken with the giraffes (which I've never seen in real life before). More pictures will follow.

Memphis, apparantly, is the name of a city in Egypt as well as Tennessee, so the zoo had an Egyptian theme complete with hieroglyphs as you enter the park.

The highlight was a decadent display for the giant panda's on loan from China, Ling Li and Ya Ya. They were munching on their bamboo when we were visiting and I was quite excited to see them. There were several other animals that I've never seen up close and personal before, including a gorilla. The Memphis Zoo has a fairly open concept so it's about as close as you can get to communing with the animals without being eaten by them.

But the tarantula as big as my hand was a wee bit creepy.

I named this guy James. He picked his nose with a coke bottle shortly after this was taken. There is only a minor family resemblance.