when i was a little girl we used to go back to pennsylvania every summer to visit my grandparents and my uncle bill’s family. my dad was a school teacher and my mom a stay at home mother, with four children to raise, this was our only summer vacation. i remember one year going back to stay at uncle bill’s and going to the pittsburgh zoo with his family, all of our cousins. i was very young, and the only thing i remember is the escalators. they left an impression, i think i may have been a bit frightened of them. you ride the escalator up a hill from the parking lot to the zoo. i took this shot (from very near the top) at the end of the day as i was leaving.

my sister is on vacation this week and mentioned maybe going to the cleveland zoo, which we have done many times, so i suggested the pittsburgh zoo. we had good weather, a bright sunny day with a nice breeze, it turned out to be a great day to spend outside and at the zoo! there was a baby elephant, angelina born on july 9th, this is a 6 day old baby.

she was in an indoor exhibit and one of her family members was outside. as we watched the elephant, a little boy ran around the corner (which just gives you another view of the elephant) came back and told his mom. it’s basically just the same elephant. (my sister and i laughed all day at this. no matter where you go, it’s basically the same elephant)

we saw the lions

a baby tiger cub snoozing, (born may 11th) and of course bears

i like how the pads of his feet are pink! there were ostrich and zebra,
tall, majestic giraffes, one of my favorite animals,

and musi seals, everybody’s favorites!

giant fish in the aquarium,

and we went to the petting zoo! this little guy had an itch!
i got to pet a deer and it’s hair was very coarse, i thought the kangaroo would be too, but it was very soft. i turned to my sister and said this would make great yarn! after she finished laughing at me we moved on, and spotted the llama and camel. she starts shouting at them, watch out for her, she’s got knitting needles. i don’t know about you, but i think they were very pleased to hear i am a knitter and i think they liked me!

i think the camel was flirting with me!

last but not least are these little guys. we stood there and watched them for about 10 minutes, they never moved. i wish i knew what the joke is, cause it looks like it was funny!

that little guy just laid there with his jaws opened, and never moved! these are west african dwarf alligators.
so as we were leaving and headed down the escalator i started wondering how in the world did people get to the zoo, on the top of that freakin’ hill before the escalators? i googled and was unable to come up with an answer, i did find reference to a book pittsburgh zoo, a 100 year history. currently selling on amazon for $75. i found an article that said the zoo opened in 1898. the land was donated by the city and the zoo constructed and donated by an entrepreneur, who also happened to own and operate a trolley company, and that it was the practice of the trolley companies to open attractions on their routes to attrack business. whatever his reason for building the zoo, it was a generous gift to the city that still stands 110 years later. amazing! the article also said the city was embarrassed that they didn’t have a zoo and yet cleveland-yes cleveland did! i found that hysterical!