Visiting any zoo at all has been on my bucket list for years, being from Newfoundland I never really got the chance to visit one. On Friday my family and I finally decided to make the trip to the Oakland Zoo. 
One animal I had been eagerly waiting to see was the giraffe. Get this – I had scrolled past countless photos of giraffes on social media for years, because I wanted to experience their majestic height in person. As we approached the giraffe exhibit, I literally gasped and pointed to them and immediately demanded a photo with them hah.
They were even taller than I had imagined, and watching them gracefully move around was such a sight, whooowee. Reading to my boys each night have me naming off so many facts about animals I had never even heard of before, so I mean, I know a few things about giraffes (any so much more information than I truly care about to name off about dinosaurs). Just let me pat myself on the back there for a momento.
My youngest son kept cowering into the stroller saying he was a bit scared of some of the animals, which was understandable considering their size and wild nature. I mean, never know what you’re gonna get with my second boy since he’s not scared of launching off the couches or climbing up on unstable places to reach for things. But with gentle reassurance and explanations about their behavior, he soon became more comfortable and started enjoying the experience. He laughed at the baboons with me! He’s a character. We will get to the baboons in a sec…
One highlight of our trip was the gondola ride, which offered an excellent view of the zoo from above and a secondary area of the zoo itself, which included the grizzly (yikes), jaguar, condor, and some wolves. Oh and fun playground for kids too! We could see the sprawling landscape and a great view of San Francisco at a few different vantage points and the different animal habitats from a unique perspective. It was truly breathtaking.
I’d say the most thrilling moment for me was when we came face to face with a grizzly bear. We first saw it from a distance, but as we entered the glass viewing area, the bear walked down the makeshift river, and we could see its face jiggling and swaying as it walked across the water. It was both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time!
We spent about 4-5 hours at the zoo, and the weather was quite hot (I think it was about 25*C or so). We found shade in a picnic area to enjoy our lunch and made sure to refill our water bottles frequently to stay hydrated.
One of the most entertaining exhibits was the baboons. Their playful antics and the vibrant red colour of their behinds made my oldest son and I laugh like immature kids. It was a moment of pure joy watching them interact and play around.
Our trip to the Oakland Zoo was definitely a great experience. Seeing the giraffes in person, witnessing the grizzly bear up close, and enjoying the gondola ride were all highlights of the day. It was a perfect family outing, and I highly recommend visiting the zoo around this time of year to make the most of the pleasant weather before it gets too scorchin’.
Don’t forget to buy your tickets in advance as they only allow a 30 minute window for entry. So time your visit accordingly or buy the tickets on your phone before you enter the parking lot. For reference, it cost our fam $100 for parking and four tickets. You can stay as long as you want, which is what we clearly did! We arrived at noon and stayed til closing.
Boy oh boy, juggling two boys as a SAHM and wanting to find the time to sit here and write up blog posts is ….somethin’ else. I truly don’t know who reads them anymore – I sometimes do. And I want to keep the ol’ blog going. So this is where I’ve been lately.
I took for granted how easy it was to take a photo of my firstborn. All those memes online about first borns, and the children that follow are so accurate. My oldest boy is always a great listener/rule follower. Throw everything out the window when working with more than one of your children to look at the camera. Ha! I can now see why people hire photographers for capturing photos of your kids.
My chaotic ways to get my kids to look at the camera while trying to hit the shutter button as quickly as possible? 1. Bring their favourite snack and bribe them with it (LOL). 2. Bring a toy they haven’t seen in a while. 3. Tell your kids “look at the cute puppy” walking down the trail with their owner. Hey! I didn’t say these were fantastic ideas, but you gotta work with what you have, am I right? Also, when working with kids I now know to keep the timing short. They can’t handle a 30+ min photo session. Pick out your location and where you want the kids to be, and let them be…play around, and snap away.
It was a funny sight to see me trying to bribe my little guy with snacks or toys wiggling above my head as I got these shots. Most of the good ones here were because he saw a person walking their dog on the trail behind me. I love how they turned out regardless, and I love that these colours worked both with their hair colours, and the location.
Speaking of location, I’m not about to gatekeep it which so often many people do. I asked someone one time where they took their photos and they were secretive about it. So here it is, please go there, it’s absolutely beautiful and has many looped trails to walk on.
Guadalupe Oak Grove Park