The San Diego Zoo is probably the most famous zoo in the world. Credit an employee named Joan Embery – she has a bio on Wikipedia! – for taking several animals up to be on the Tonite Show with Johnny Carson.
Carson was excellent with animals – making them the star while he reacted to them – and it became a very popular regular feature on the show.
Today, the zoo is one of the biggest tourist attractions in a town with a lot of things to see and do and I recently spent a day there, or at least part of a day. My friend, Allen Pelligrini, has a season pass and he’s allowed to bring along a guest. So I got to go without having to pay and we entered through a no-line entrance. Nice!
The season pass also provides the luxury of not having to see everything in a single visit. That something tourists cannot do, of course, but it’s a good option for locals.
The admission price, by the way, is $67/adults (ages 12+) and $57/child (ages 3-11). 1-Day Passes – Value Dates: $63/adults (ages 12+) and $53/child (ages 3-11).
Here is what I saw and experienced at the zoo.
Beautiful Grounds And A Lot Of Walking
Allen’s foot tracker revealed we walked 4.8 miles. Didn’t seem that far. But who am I to argue with technology?
But what a beautiful walk! The San Diego Zoo is in Balboa Park, the crown jewel of San Diego, and it full of trees and nature scenery.
The trails in the park include a lot of this scenery. There is some up-and-down walking but for those who can’t walk that far there is a bus that goes around the park as well as a “Skyfari” aerial tram.
The animal displays show them in their natural surroundings. It did occur to me, tho that it might actually be better if it wasn’t quite so natural. At many displays you have to really look hard to see the animals, and sometimes you can’t see them at all. If there were some vivid colors the animals would be easier to spot.
Of course, you can’t miss an elephant or a zebra.
The Zoo Has Pretty Much Every Animal You Want To See
It has spiders and snakes, lizards and leopards, lions (two lions and they are brother and sister but are fed at separate times) a komodo dragon and .hippos and polar bears, birds and eagles, crocs and zebras, as many others too numerous to list here. We spent three hours.
What stood out the most to me was how huge a lot of the creatures are in real life. I watch a lot of animal and nature shows on TV and know some of them are big but I did not realize many are that big. The hippos were the size of a compact car (and a lot more sturdy, no doubt). The eagles were 10% larger than they appear on TV. So was pretty much everything, even the tarantulas.
Allen estimated we only saw about half the animals.
The Zoo Staff Is Awesome
There was always a “team member” as they are called, to provide helpful tips and directions. Everyone was helpful and friendly. Yes, it’s an attraction and I hardly expected anyone to be a jerk but there were plenty of them and they were all offering advice with a smile and friendly demeanor.
The Zoo Is Disneyland Clean
Not once did I notice a piece of paper, hot dog wrapper, discarded drink bottle or any trash whatsoever on any trail or in any part of the park. It was Disneyland clean. That was nice. San Diego is overall a very tidy city and it was great to see it here, as well.
They Serve Beer!
This is important to PubClub.com of course!
I Saw As Many Strollers As Animals
This was to be expected, of course. But they never got in my way. This is because there is plenty of room for people even in a crowded park. I never felt cramped.
On the way out, my friend showed me a stroller-free way out of the park. It was up a lot of steps and included a couple of small waterfalls, which kind of made me feel as if I were in a remote part of Hawaii.
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