We recently took our second trip to the Baltimore Zoo (excuse me, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore). It was part of our Mother’s Day outing, which began w/ our second visit to Miss Shirley’s Café. We highly recommend both.
We had a bit of a wait at Miss Shirley’s, which was to be expected on a Mother’s Day Sunday around brunch time. But it’s amazing food, and well worth the wait. Javi enjoyed looking around Keswick (the neighborhood around JHU’s Homewood Campus).
We went to Miss Shirley’s on Election Tuesday, to celebrate our having voted. Both times the food was excellent. It’s a little on the pricey side, but it’s all top-notch, organic and/or local ingredients. For those who know Kalamazoo, it’s a lot like Food Dance.
The highlight, of course, was the Baltimore Zoo. It’s the nation’s third oldest (opened in 1876) and is already one of my favorites. It’s not as big as some other zoos I’ve been to. But it’s clearly designed for kids (in a good way). It reminds me a lot of the Lincoln Park Zoo. Both are very well designed (I’ll give the Lincoln Park Zoo an edge in the “aesthetics” department), though Baltimore’s is bigger. Also, it helps that the Baltimore zoo is not in an “urban” environment, but rather nestled inside a large city green space: Druid Hill Park.
Javi clearly enjoyed the outing. He’s now old enough to really appreciate animals in a more nuanced way. He rushed to pet the goats (the zoo has a farm animal petting area). He laughed at the ducks playing in the agua. He got a kick out of the pinguins (he loves Pingu). What’s great about the Baltimore Zoo is also how there’s just a lot of great natural scenery. It’s not just animals in cages or constructed habitats. I also really like the entire “Children’s Zoo” area devoted to the Chesapeake Bay & local wildlife (it resembles more a nature trail than an “exhibit”). Also, there are rides—but these are in a separate location away from the animals (which is good).
We’re gonna try to go back for the Brew at the Zoo event in two weeks. Anyone wanna come see us?
Cute! And Javi's hair has turned blond. Thought it was black before..?
Yes, his hair has gone blonder almost since he was born, actually. My mom is a "strawberry blonde" so it was always a strong possibility that any kid of ours (my wife is blonde) would turn out something on the ginger side. :-)