Zoo 5k Run

This morning we went to the NC Zoo to run in the "Run for the Wild" 5k race through the zoo (and we stayed afterwards until Avery decided she was ready for a nap.)

Jim pushed the stroller so he had to start in back.

There was a huge crowd so he got stuck in back for awhile after the race started, but once he got through the pack he sprinted for a full mile to catch up to (and run next to) Colleen who started up front with the regular runners.  It was a really tough course through the zoo, it was very hilly with lots of tight turns on the zoo paths.  The last mile was on a crushed gravel path through the forest which was really neat.

After race there was a 0.1 mile kids fun run (from the 3.0 mile marker to the finish line), and Avery took part.  Based on the crowd at the starting line, she was the youngest one taking part!  (She's in the white top, black pants, left of the kid in green)

She stopped a few times and was more interested in picking up pieces of gravel than continuing on, and she finished last amongst all the kids!  But considering she was only 15 months old, at least she finished!  (Binky in her mouth the whole course, naturally)

She came through the finish chute

 And got a medal for finishing!

(She thought the medal was a cookie and kept trying to eat it!!!)

Then she posed next to the polar bear

and giraffe at the finish line.

We went into the zoo and decided to put the cost of our two admission tickets to obtaining a year long zoo membership since it is reciprocal with 150 zoos and aquariums nationwide (Including the three NC Aquariums we plan on visiting in the next few months with Avery now that she is old enough to enjoy them).

Inside the zoo Avery liked seeing the sea lions right up against the glass!

She also like seeing the polar bear, black bears, and grizzly bears. (She kept waving at them like they were puppies or something nice!)

She watched one of the keepers talk about turtles

And enjoyed a carousel ride.

She also hung out in a giant beehive

She really liked these small mammals called cacomistles.  There were in the Sonoran Desert exhibit, and they were nocturnal in a low-light setting so they were hard to photograph. But they were related to raccoons but much cuter!  She loved watching them play, and we had to stop her from banging on the glass so much!  We'd never heard of them before and they aren't the type of exhibit that is something people usually stop for awhile to see at a zoo, but Avery loved them, who'd have known???

They had two white alligators at the zoo on a temporary exhibit from April - October of this year, very interesting to see.

Then she fell asleep in the stroller right before the elephant exhibit

She really loved the elephants at the DC National Zoo last weekend so it was too bad she fell asleep then!  So since we were tired we headed back to the car and skipped exhibits such as the lions, giraffes, mearcats, chimps, etc.  (we really wanted to see the giraffes because they have 4 different tree level viewing platforms so you can see them at face level, neat!  We'll save all of those for the next visit!