annual nc zoo trip

 Well, as you can see here, we made our annual trip to the North Carolina Zoo.  It was a wonderful day.  The weather was perfect, the animals were active, and it wasn't crowded.  Going in the fall is the best time to go.  We have tried many different times of the year, but right after the start of school it's too early for field trips so there are no bus loads of kids.  So, we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves. 

 Two of the gorillas had babies in August so they were almost two months old.  The.Cutest.Babies. Ever. 

 The giraffes were quite beautiful, although they were fighting.  They kept banging their necks together.  The sound that it made was really loud and sounded pretty painful.  We got to feed those very giraffes later in the day. 

 Oh, the lions, my personal favorite.  We always stop at the lions first hoping they'll be more active early in the morning.  Usually they are sound asleep in the sun.  But this time, oh, this time, the female was awake.  She is so beautiful.  I was so glad I got some great pictures of her.  Yay for great zoom lenses!

 The elephants were pretty active this time, too.  They were closer and not hiding in the shade.  They were throwing dirt on their backs and drinking water.  And the adorable thing is, they seem to be constantly smiling. 

 Yes, more gorilla baby pictures.  Come on, you know you love  it, too. 

 And this here chimp, the same one pictured above, seemed annoyed that I constantly tried to keep his attention.  He wasn't fooling me though.  I think you can tell by this pose that he loves being photographed.