Ain't No Henry Doorly!

Andrew had some time off this weekend, so we decided to venture out and take a trip to our nearby zoo. We heard wonderful things about it, so when we pulled up, we were a little hesitant as we saw this... (the sign read "Honk and Come in")!!

Yes, this was the front entrance to the zoo. With laughter in our eyes, we had questions like, "Do we dare go inside?" and "Are we sure we'll be safe??"
This was the very first thing we saw as we pulled into the zoo's front entrance... This zoo was literally hiding in no man's land!! Yet, that didn't stop us...
After paying (what we felt was a ridiculous amount for this small of a zoo), we entered at our own risk.
We apparently fell for the "buy 3, get 1 free" sales pitch, because we ended up buying $6 worth of petting zoo food! This was not intentional but we realized it a little too late!That said, we made sure we spent some quality time feeding the kicking donkey, attacking lama, and baby goats. 
Bryson was such a sport! He missed his morning nap in order to let his big brother have this fun-filled adventure.
Here we are next to the guinea pigs. Have you ever heard the noises these things make? Brode kept asking to go inside and pet them!
Like Father, like son... Daddy let Brode get as close as possible!
Man's best friend is typically a dog. Well, not for Brode. He loves his kitty... he takes him everywhere he goes.He's even discovered how to carry him onto his shoulders, just as Daddy carries him.
Best of friends, enjoying the zoo! :)
Here Brode was intrigued by a big kitty! A white tiger was pacing his cage. We also saw a huge lion - we didn't get very close. Although they were caged in, we didn't feel as safe with the man-made, rickety cages (also, there was no one else in sight)!
With overcast skies and animals talking back and forth, Bryson fell fast asleep on Mommy's chest as we walked. 
I had to show you a few pics of how the zoo was set up... We literally walked along this dirt path and viewed the animals in all sorts of man-made cages. Seriously... where is everybody??
Seriously... would you call this a zoo?
Brode checking out the snakes... Yikes! I hate snakes!
Mommy sharing a special moment with Brode Bear. He's my buddy.
Towards the end of our tour, Brode found this pretty-looking peacock. He decided to follow it the rest of the way back. Of course, he kept looking back to see if Mommy & Daddy were coming too!

For those who have had the privilege of entering Henry Doorly Zoo, this didn't even compare. It only took us 1.5 hours to walk through the entire thing. When we made it back to the vehicle, our coffees were still warm in the thermos!

Although I joke about it, we had a great time. We made a memory, it was the perfect day to go, and Brode had so much fun. He wanted to go again... He was at the perfect age to enjoy this type of zoo! :)