moody gardens and san antonio zoo

One of my best friends surprised me with two passes to Moody Gardens and Snoopy and I found ourselves in Galveston not too many days later.

Moody Gardens rainforest pyramid was filled with most gorgeous and vibrant colored flowers. 

We also stumbled across some cute, furry, not so furry, and feathery faces along the way.

This guy was so tiny! I was glad that I was able to snap a picture of the little guy. I love these little dart frogs. They look like they can sit on my finger tips.

Chameleons are excellent. Their hands are like mittens and they move very slowly. Plus, they have an extra curly tail which just makes them all the better.

This snake was beautiful. Snakes are usually terrifying but behind glass, I can better appreciate them.

This lizard was out catching some sun as I was trying to get a good shot of some orchids. I was amazed that he didn't move. He didn't even really acknowledge my presence.

pile up!

Snoopy always gets a laugh out of the turtles that come out of the water. How could anyone not really think they are amusing? They are piled up on each other.

The penguin exhibit is always exciting. The penguins may not move quickly on land, but in the water they can zoom with ease. Snoopy and I sat in front of the glass for nearly half an hour to try to snag a picture of the tuxedo-clad critters. Out of the hundreds of tries, Snoopy was able to snap this one.

On the sidelines, penguins always seems as though they are awaiting divine intervention with their flippers back and their heads looking towards the sky.

Out of all of the penguin pictures, this one makes Snoopy laugh, especially when looking at the face of the Macaroni penguin on the far right. Then we have the guy in the middle looking for fish, and the one on the right looks like he is on the edge and is about to jump. Of course, he will only fall into water and not to his doom.

On Christmas day, Snoopy and I spent our cool San Antonio morning at the zoo. Snoopy had always wanted to take me there and this was our shot.

At the zoo entrance, there were statues of a lion pride. Snoopy would not be a good sport, but he did get a picture of me hugging a lion cub.

Most of the zoo animals were quite active probably due to the cool temperatures. The flamingos were squawking away very loudly. Snoops and I could hear them from the parking lot.

The black bear was pacing around which was a nice change to the perpetually sleeping bears we see in Houston. I was very grateful to get a picture of its cute face.

The monkeys were definitely a sight to be seen. They were so active! This guy somehow climbed up very high on a stoop to enjoy his apple in peace while his friends monkeyed around below.

This guy was great. He would come right up to the glass to look at us look at him. I loved the mutton chops of gray! A few others did the same. The would come over to the glass and look at us, show us their teeth, then scurry away to make room for another one on the ledge.

Momma and baby

In the "toadally" exhibit, I found this guy. It reminded me of the tree frogs that my mom always found at home and how they would make their home on her deck. Each morning, mom would go outside to look for them in their new spot. She would even name them.

This wild squirrel was hanging out on a bridge working on a nut.

I wasn't sure why this guy seemed so subdued. Most of the other animals in the same exhibit were also a lot less active than the other monkeys we had seen. This also allowed me to get a close up.

There were many exhibits where the animals were roaming freely. Snoopy found this guy near the bushes and laughed at how he was all crunched up, hanging out with the other birds.

The elephant exhibit, no matter where I go, is always fun. This time, there were two older elephants. I think it was funny that the keeper was getting ready to give them lunch, so they were hanging out close by waiting for their lunch time. One of the elephants, Lucky, rocks back and forth as her way of showing impatience while waiting for her food.

From the San Antonio zoo website, Boo is the other elephant who joined Lucky out in the yard. I do not know where she came from, but she came in with some kind of issues with her feet. The San Antonio zoo gives both lovely ladies foot treatments daily to prevent infections and other problems they may have. According to the keepers, Boo's feet have improved since her arrival.

Snoopy was going to allow me to wait and watch the elephants get fed, but it was going to be about 20 more minutes so we moved on. The zebras were out and munching on their hay. I liked that I was able to get a shot of the zebras without the bars and chains that usually contain them. Also, I felt that I was so much more close to them.

The rhinos are so fun because they always remind me of a triceratops. Probably for good reason!

My dad used to always tell me that he liked the rhinos because they looked the most like a dinosaur to him. Once I was able to feed one by hand. They use their upper lip to scoop food into their mouth.

The cheetah was on the prowl, pacing back and forth.

Pumba. Snoopy always calls me Pumba. I guess I look like a warthog? haha!

This tiger was very small, weighing in only a little over 300 lbs. The bigger tigers are twice that size. This tiger was pacing back and forth along the edge of the enclosure, looking pretty mean.

Next up was the world of Australia. We found some  wallabys and they were watching us as we watched them. I loved how curious they were and how they were always interested in us. Maybe they were hoping we would feed them. Either way, it worked out great for me and the camera. I was able to get pictures of faces.

We saw some porcupines too. Porcupines are not one that I would typically find cute, but this guy looked up and I thought he had a face that was adorable in its own way.

After the porcupine, Snoopy and I made it to the Lory Landing. This was my favorite part of the zoo exhibit.

I walked to the nearby concession stand to pick up some nectar to give to the birds. Not only are the birds used to this, but they also know how to pull the lids off of the containers with the nectar. This red bird nearly assaulted Snoopy while trying to pull the lid off!

Once the lorries had their nectar, they were quite photogenic but did not want us to pet them. If we tried, they snapped and made ugly noises at us.

Not only were the lorries all over the place looking for our nectar, the were loud. They would get on our shoulders and screech in our ears. Maybe this was a way to say thanks for the treats.

At one point, I had several birds on me trying to get nectar.

a day at the zoo

I love the days when Snoopy comes around to tell me he has a surprise. Most of the time I figure it out, but I don't tell him! The last surprise adventure we had was a visit to the zoo. I love the zoo. I also think that I have an unusual love for all things animal and thoroughly enjoy the zoo no matter how many times we go through the year. 

Since I was little, we always started all zoo visits with the aquarium. I follow this tradition even today. My favorite part of the aquarium is always, hands down, the green sea turtle in the large exhibit. Every time I see him, he reminds me of the Kemp's Ridley sea turtles that Snoopy used to tell me about while working along the coast. I used to get so excited thinking that one day Snoopy would sneak one of the little guys away just long enough for me to touch it and hold it. He never did, but a girl can still dream!

Walking from the aquarium, we mad went to visit the sea lions and we found that a small monitor was out on the sidewalk. We were all allowed to touch his rough skin and I happily crawled down on my knees to get a picture of his cute face.

Snoopy and I walked over to see the sea lion exhibit, and of course, the sea lions were zooming around their water pen. This time, we got to see short show discussing the differences between sea lions and seals. The keepers also showed us how they use the sea lions training to check them out medically. I have seen these before, but for some reason it didn't matter. I still love watching!

Next up were the birds. These two birds were sitting so still and patient, I had to take a picture of them .

Following the path, we came to the Chilean flamingos. This time, the flamingos seemed sleepy. I still wonder why they stand on one leg all the time.

The Houston Zoo has an exhibit for giant tortoises. When we were little, my mom would tell me that her dad (my grandpa) would tell them about how the tortoises would eat little children who didn't follow instructions. He said he came by once where the keepers only found a shoe! That sounds like a story that my grandpa would make up.



These tortoises always make Snoopy laugh. He always laughs at the one who props up his shell as he moves along. Then he remarks about the Galapagos tortoises and how slowly they eat.

The Houston zoo's primate trail is always exciting. The primates are always doing fun things and moving around. This lemur was watching us watch him!

These little guys move like squirrels. The funny part to me is that they look like little witch doctors with their strange while mane around their little faces. They always seem to be on a mission, whether it be making their way to the top of their enclosure, to finding the best leaves to move around.

hey man, what are you looking at? 

After leaving the primates, it started raining. Snoopy made me decide which animals that I absolutely had to see. How rude! He did have good reasoning. I was hanging on to our good camera and it was raining. Not a good mix! 

We made it over to the lions. When I was in elementary school, I remember when the lion roared. I remember hearing the roar at the entrance of the zoo and being amazed. I never forget the roar and hope that I get to hear it again. Each time I am disappointed to find the lion and his harem of lady lions in a snooze-fest. One day, I will get to hear it again! 

I remember watching an episode of Zoo Confidential on Animal Planet that was up close to the tigers in the zoo. The tigers are Malaysian tigers and are smaller than the more famous Siberian or Bengal tigers. That does not mean that they had less attitude! The brother tiger was shown greeting the cameraman with a snarl, and telling him good-bye also with a snarl.

My mom loves tigers and she could watch them pace around all day long. They were definitely beautiful with their athletic bodies moving gracefully through their enclosure. One time when we were on a field trip, we saw one of the tigers on his hind legs pawing the glass. I remember being scared that he was going to bust through and chase us down! I do often wonder if the tigers get bored.

I learned fairly recently that jaguars have a jaw that can physically crush skulls. Yikes. This allows the jaguar to employ an unusual killing method. It bites directly through the skull to deliver the fatal bite directly through the brain. Of course, this means that armored creatures cannot even hide from them. Here, we just get to see them sleeping about. This time, he was sleeping on a cardboard box. Now why he was on a cardboard box is something I can't explain.


One of my most favorite places to visit is the elephant enclosure. The zoo has even expanded it so that the elephant family can have more room to wander around. I have seen so many shows about elephants and how they respond to others in their family. They have a deep connection with each other that has been observed but never fully understood. Maybe that is why I like them so much. Not to mention, when you look at the adorable baby elephants, how can anyone not like them?

In recent years, the zoo has added a meerkat exhibit. I could probably watch the meerkats all day long because they are so funny.

First of all, they have funny faces. Oddly enough, they make me think of Gunner. Each time that we had gone, we would always see one meerkat braving all odds to watch the sky for predators. This time, all of the meerkats seemed content with sleeping or playing in the dirt.