Texas + New Mexico - Day 3 - Part 2

Quick Trip


We depart from the Japanese Tea Garden of San Antonio and go down the street a bit and re-park the car in the lot for the zoo. We find a spot relatively easily and exit the car for the second time. If you'd like to read about our time in the Japanese Tea Garden, click the link below.

San Antonio Zoo


We walk up to the entrance of San Antonio Zoo, and Mason and Leigh buy our tickets for us. We are extremely grateful. I love all of the art that the zoo has already on display. There are portraits of animals made to look like stained glass, and it's sensational.

Colorful mosaic mural of a crane on a green door at Mariposa Garden Center, framed by stone walls and potted plants.

We enter the zoo. and the first exhibit we see are flamingos. I always adore how judgmental they look with the way they pop their heads up and look at you. It cracks me up, especially when a group them do it together. There is a small waterfall feeding into the flamingos' pool and a small bird is bathing at the top of it.

Close-up of vibrant orange flamingos with distinctive curved beaks against a rocky background.
A small bird perched on a mossy rock beside a gentle waterfall surrounded by lush green foliage.

We decide to approach the zoo by going clock-wise. We go through the Grottos area, and then the Asian Forest. Jeremy and I see our first ever Spectacled Bear, named as such because the paler markings around its eyes create the shape of the rims of glasses. Some of the animals are shy today, especially in this area of the zoo. Maybe they are having their after-breakfast snooze. I did photograph a squirrel though, sitting on top of one of the exhibit entrances.

A black Andean spectacled bear sits curiously beside a white canvas bag hanging from a wooden post outdoors.
A small squirrel perched on a rocky ledge in a forested area, surrounded by blurred green trees in the background.

We go into a little area that is enclosed in the middle of the zoo. You can see several birds here, mostly ducks, and a few snakes. It's here that I learn that Mason doesn't like "danger noodles".

A brown and black patterned snake gliding through dark rocky water in its natural habitat.

We exit the enclosed area and find ourselves in a more open area with more flamingos and bird sightings, including a vulture and a swan goose.

A group of orange flamingos standing and resting in green water, framed by dark tree branches in the foreground.
A brown and tan goose with an open beak swimming gracefully on dark water, showcasing detailed feather patterns.
A black vulture perched on a wooden log surrounded by lush green tree branches in a natural outdoor setting.

We make our way over to the African part of the zoo, entering the building with the hippos. There are, indeed, hippopotami here. There is also a caiman, and several more "Nope Ropes", much to Mason's dismay. A whole group of children is in front of the large window that looks out at the hippopotami. The water look really gross - it's probably not nearly. as gross as the natural waters they swim in, but just as I'm thinking that one of the hippos stands up and has explosive poop which they fan off of their own bum with their tail. Disgusting. The other hippo immediately starts to get out of the water, and quite frankly, I don't blame them. The first hippo, now relieved, sinks back into the water. The poopy water. Gross.

A large monitor lizard rests on rocky terrain in a naturalistic zoo enclosure surrounded by trees.
A hippopotamus partially submerged in green water near a rocky wall, with only its head visible above the surface.

We cut across, without knowing, to the Birds of the World exhibit. There are baby ducklings and goslings here, which bring so much joy to Zelda. A blue-bellied roller catches my eye, and I get a few good snapshots of them.

A blue and white jay bird perched on a gnarled tree branch surrounded by green leaves.
A vibrant blue and white roller bird perched on a tree branch in a natural woodland setting.

I'm really not sure how we zig-zagged so much, looking at the zoo map, and seeing the order we saw animals. We saw the African Painted Dogs next. Their ears are so big! Then we saw the giraffes and the zebras - they are in the same enclosure. The giraffes are the most chilled out giraffes I have ever seen before.

African wild dog stands alert in rocky terrain, showcasing its distinctive mottled black, yellow, and white coat.
Close-up profile of a reticulated giraffe with distinctive brown patches against a rocky stone wall background.
A zebra with bold black and white stripes stands among large rocks in a natural stone enclosure.

We go over to Congo Falls, the brand new gorilla exhibit. It is beautifully done. There's a walkway that you can go on to see the outdoor area for the gorillas, and it's built kind of like a tunnel. There's a tunnel within the exhibit too for the gorillas to use, and that makes me smile. Do they think we are the ones in an exhibit?


One of the gorillas comes out and starts to munch on a stick. It's pretty gosh darn cute.

A gorilla sits among green plants and yellow flowers, eating a leafy branch against a rocky wall backdrop.
A large gorilla sits against a wall, holding and examining leafy branches in a black and white zoo photograph.
Two children observe a large gorilla through glass at a zoo exhibit.

Zelda is very tired by this point, so after Conga Falls, we make our way toward the exit. Zelda falls asleep in the stroller on the way out, so I take advantage of our extra time and stop to get coffees. It takes me thirty minutes to get two coffees from the Starbucks outside of the zoo. It's crazy how mismanaged this Starbucks is, and how poor their service is. Whatever, I got my San Antonio ornament, got Jeremy's and my coffees, and headed out the door. We made our way back to Leigh and Mason's house so that Zelda could continue her nap. She slept in the car on the way there, and then slept even more in her pack 'n play. What a sleepy girl!