Play in the City : Labor Day Visit to the Zoo

For the past three years, I’ve always worked on Labor Day. Being my first work-free holiday, I woke up cheerful and itching to do something fun!

A week ago today (I know, it has taken me a while to get this posted), I organized a trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo. Unlike the many businesses and offices closed for Labor Day, the Zoo was open. In fact, the Zoo is open 365 days a year, yes, even in the winter!

I never thought about going to the Zoo, say, in January, but apparently people go. Spending a day at the Zoo has been a summer activity for me since I was little. As a kid I remember being completely fascinated by the animals and I bet my parents found joy in seeing the wonder and amusement through our eyes at the same time.

My mom used to bring my brother, sister and I to the Zoo several times each summer because we had a year-long pass. We’d pack PB&J sandwiches and juice boxes and spend the entire day with the animals. I loved Monkey Island and riding the train; and I always begged for a molded wax statue from one of those machines outside every building.

As my siblings and I developed into teenagers, and then young adults, my parents canceled our Zoo pass. As a result, I haven’t gone for several years, that is, until now. Going as an adult without kids certainly didn’t evoke the same feelings as it did when I was in grade school though. The Zoo was a little less exciting, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

The Milwaukee County Zoo was the first place I thought of when debating how to spend Labor Day – it would be the perfect end-of-summer trip, I thought out loud as Eric and I sipped coffee and watched the news.

Once we found parking on one of the side streets (both Eric and I weren’t keen on paying for parking in the lot), we entered the Zoo and headed towards the Aviary. There’s a room in this building where both large and small birds fly around freely – one bird flew right above my head as I could feel it ruffle my hair a bit.

After spending some time with our feathered friends, we headed towards Monkey Island to watch them climb from tree to tree and pick bugs from each other’s hair. Then the two of us ventured to the Aquatic and Reptile Center where I was captivated by the turtles until we met up with Justin, Jennifer and Chris.

I wanted to make it to the Zoo before the end of the summer mostly because I wanted to see two of the special summer-only exhibits – the sting ray and shark reef and the new koalas – that I saw on billboards along I-94 all summer.

At the reef, we paid the extra $2 fee to have the chance to pet sting rays and sharks – clearly not everyone gets this kind of opportunity. Inside, there were two pools – the first, an 11,000-gallon pool featuring cow nose and southern red sting rays; and the second, a 6,000-gallon pool displaying both the leopard shark and the horn shark. We were able to dip our hands in each pool to touch the sting rays and sharks that circled around them. Knowing that all of the sting rays are barb-less (they are unable to sting), and the sharks are non-aggressive (I wouldn’t lose a hand), I wasn’t nervous to touch their smooth, leathery skin.

Next, we headed down under to visit the two male koalas, Bamba and Muuri, which were flown in from the San Diego Zoo to spend the summer in Milwaukee. How cool is that? Each koala had their own tree where they stayed sleeping away the lazy days of summer. For that reason they weren’t very entertaining, but undoubtedly cute!

Besides the new exhibits, we saw a variety of animals – rhinos, giraffes, mountain goats, polar bears, moose, hippos, penguins, elephants, and big cats. It’s neat to see species you wouldn’t normally find around the Midwest or even in the United States; at the same time, I always get mixed feelings about the Zoo. While at times it made me sad to see the animals in captivity, I understood that the Zoo is a good alternative habitat for exotic animals as it protects them from poaching and hunting, besides keeping them well fed and cared for.

Walking around I was surprised at how small the crowds were at the Zoo. Being a holiday, not to mention a gorgeous day outside, I would have expected it to be teeming with families.

The Zoo is a really peaceful park even on the busiest days. And now it will be even more comfortable since at the beginning of the summer, the Zoo became smoke-free. Instead of being able to smoke anywhere in the Zoo, new designated smoking areas found throughout the park are the only locations allowed for cigarette puffing. I’m not a smoker, so I didn’t mind this change; on the other hand, Justin was a little annoyed.

I guess Milwaukee area smokers are going to have to start getting used to the smoke-free rules since just a few weeks ago Milwaukee County executives proposed a ban that would outlaw puffing or even carrying a lighted cigarette within 30 feet of all county buildings, including Mitchell International Airport. Some are even pushing to eliminate designated areas that now allow smoking, such as the zoo and the Bradley Center. I guess it isn’t surprising that the Zoo made such changes to keep up with the changing times.

Also as we strolled around the park, I couldn’t help but stop at the carts scattered throughout the Zoo that offered an array of specialty items and gift ideas; and best of all, cuddly stuffed animals. Justin, Eric and Chris actually had to tear Jennifer and me away from them.

Later in the day we bought $2 tickets for the Sea Lion Show. The stands were in direct sunlight, so we were pleased we chose to see the last show of the day at 4 p.m. since the sun wasn’t as brutal at that time. Still, audience members either shielded the sun with their hands or used their Zoo brochure as a visor. But once the show began, no one seemed to mind the sun and enjoyed the show despite the heat.

The short show featured California sea lions and harbor seals that entertained and educated guests – they even splashed a couple of unsuspecting kids with one enormous wave from the pool.

Our final stop after the Sea Lion Show was the Family Farm, which was pretty desolate by that time. Here I was hoping to see native wildlife and farm animals that I remembered getting to pet as a child. I was bummed because I only saw one chicken and a garden snake in the petting area and a couple cows in the barn.

Also in the Dairy Barn you can watch milking demos although they were over by the time we got there. More importantly, you can taste dairy land’s best ice cream – I forgot all about my disappointment when I had a double scoop of Mackinac Island Fudge!

I definitely had my fill of the Zoo and kids by the end of the day although it was great to be that age again, even if it was only for a few hours. After exploring the Zoo, I realized why the Milwaukee County Zoo is rated one of the best zoos in the United States. It’s a perfect place to go with friends or family to be entertained and educated 365 days a year – anyone can appreciate that.

For me there was no better way to spend Labor Day. After that weekend, I think I’m ready to let go of summer and welcome autumn; however, I was definitely not ready to go back to work on Tuesday, that’s for sure.

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Milwaukee County Zoo
10001 West Blue Mound Road
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
Hours and fees vary monthly. Check out the website for information.

Comments

I used to love taking summer trips to the zoo as a kid - wait, I still do! I remember always wanting to touch the peacocks that roam freely around the park. I’m still captivated by all of the additional animals. The zoo is such a great place!

Posted by: Amanda | September 11, 2007 at 09:51 AM