Day 2 - Des Moines

We decided to hit up the Blank Park Zoo this morning. We thought the earlier we go, the less busy it will be and the less hot it would be. Once we entered the zoo there was a pretty display of flamingos. Shortly after that, it was time to go to the Australian outback. This exhibit was cool! They had a walking path, where the kangaroos and birds/ostrichs roam freely. Macyn was scared when an emu came at us, but she enjoyed seeing the kangaroos up close – especially the baby ones. It was definitely a new experience to be in a "free range zoo."

We also hit up the petting zoo where Macyn had fun feeding the goats and cows. There was also a big playground that we stopped to play on. She ask had to say, "buck buck" to the chickens :)

Other hits at the zoo was the sea lion exhibit. It was a giant tank where you could view them above the water and below. It was fun to see them swim. The giraffes were neat too – you could literally go right up to them. They even had a platforms so you can be eye-to-eye.

After the outdoor exhibits, we headed inside for the indoor ones. There was  cave and a rainforest. We hurried through this part because Macyn was starting to get crabby. After the indoor stuff, we told Macyn she could pick out anything in the gift store. She found a butterfly pillow, which was a decent $15. We tried to convince her to get a souvenir more unique to the zoo itself, but she was inseparable from the pillow.

Her "souvenirs"

After the zoo we headed back to the hotel, but not until we stopped for lunch at Popeyes. I wasn't too impressed, but it was good food. Once we got back, we swam a little bit and Macyn took a nap. After that we went shopping where I found a $5 swimsuit, ate at Fazolis (amazing, and had so many leftovers for another meal once we got home). After that, it was back to swimming again. All the swimming and business led for a tired girl at the end of the night. We had a king bed where she slept right in-between us. It was nice to cuddle, and she fell asleep really fast.