A Tale of Two Beans: 11 Months Old/We Found A Better ZOO!

So this post is a little late, but I'm going to use this as an opportunity to catch up on things around here up until this past weekend. Then I will post about this past weekends festivities soon.

So Rian is so, so close to walking that he can stroll side by side with you only holding one hand. We try to get his to take steps in his own, but every time you let go, he stands for a few seconds, then sits down.

This is how he was walking down the hallway the other day - hugging the wall

So after our big bust at the zoo, we decided that we needed redemption, and we needed to take advantage of the perfect weather we were having! So we did a little research and found a zoo that was just as close, in the other direction, south of Worchester - The Southwick Zoo. I was a little skeptical because this was a private, unaccredited zoo, but man was it awesome!

Holding hands in the car - Rian laughs and laughs when Regan holds his hand

Right off the bat, Galapagos Tortoise, super close

The Peacock was in their exhibit too, strutting his stuff

This guy has out sunning himself with his mouth wide open, he had a huge enclosure

So here's the house of the owners, right beyond the African Savannah exhibit

Giraffes - they had a nice new enclosure & house

Rian was in charge of the map

Free roaming deer exhibit was in a large forested area with a picnic area too

Chimps had a relatively new enclosure and a new addition to the family. We watched this little guy play with Mom for quite a while

Bonsai!

Tiger...there were literally just 2 regular chain link fences between me and it, no wonder their not accredited...

Finally the girl gets her Merry-Go-Round Ride!!

Petting Zoo

Baby Goats in the Petting Zoo

Prairie Dog was literally the center of attention

OK, this was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen -
Baby Porcupine
This little guy's eyes weren't even open yet, but Mom had stashed him here in the corner because the monkey's in the neighboring enclosure were throwing a fit and Mom was standing guard barking at them

All in all we had a really great visit, and we will definitely be using this as our zoo of choice from now on. It was very stroller/kid friendly, and way cooler to visit because they don't have to follow the rules set by the AZA. While this could of ended up being a crappy roadside zoo, you could tell that they put a lot of money into it, and the animals are well cared for and kept in more than adequate conditions/exhibits. All around, a job well done.