We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo (well, we've been)

The boys and I went for a trip to the LA Zoo today, partly because S wanted us out of the house, and partly because there was supposed to be Christmassy stuff going on there. However, the Christmassy stuff was some reindeer (which was slightly interesting), except the boys didn't really understand why it was that reindeer were interesting. "Where is the sleigh? Where is the playground?"

There was a place to interact with goats - you got a brush from the brush bucket, and brushed a goat. Which amused the boys for a few minutes only. There was a rope that the goats went and hid behind when they'd had enough of being brushed - most of the goats were there. As we were in the goat place, we met R, and his daughter A. R is a lecturer at Newcastle and is here for a year, partly working at Corporation of Current Employment, partly at the VA.

It's the way of zoos, especially zoos that keep their animals in conditions vaguely similar to natural ones, that the animals are not especially visible or interesting. We caught a glimpse of some sealions. The hippos sat in the water creating gentle ripples with their breating (and poohing). Only the tails of the crocodiles were interesting. This crocodile on the right was visible, but it didn't mover, and it's actually very small.
All the boys wanted to do was go to the playground, and partly as a result of a new gorilla container being built, and partly as a result of my poor map reading skills, we took an extremely circuitous route, and took a long time to get there.

There was a hot metal sign at the playground, but being December, we ignored it. There was also a shower, presumably to cool down overheated children. Being December, A and D should have ignored that, but didn't.






































Finally on the way out, we got to an exhibit they liked. Snow was being created, to make a pile that children (and adults, I guess) could play in. Huge blocks of ice were delivered from a lorry, and went on a conveyor belt into what I presume was an enormous shredder.

A hose came out of the shredder, and spray the resulting snow into an area that was closed off with bales of hay, occasionally hitting the watching crowds with small bits of fast moving ice.