Bipolar Weather | Giraffes & Baby Bengals

This weekend has been quite hectic. I've been struggling to find time to post something (apologies), but I've finally gotten time to sit down and share. So, here we go!

Last Friday was one of the first days I felt as though I was fully committed to the role of "tourist." We planned a trip to the zoo, but thanks to the bipolar weather, we ended up doing all our planned "activities" completely out of order.

Our first stop was supposed to be the zoo, but because of the rain we headed to the mall instead. We got some lunch and then it was basically a waiting game to see if the rain would ever stop (and for the rest of the day we practically had $*** luck with the weather, as you'll soon see).

The somewhat clear sky was encouragement enough to try to head back to the zoo. I'm not typically excited by the idea of visiting the zoo, but the new inclusion of some Bengal tigers and giraffes did intrigue me.

A pair of parrots having a snack in a nearby palm tree, greeted everyone on their way in (I kinda wanted to take one home).

I felt like I got a workout in within 5mins of walking around (my thighs were on fireee), and we didn't even walk around the entire zoo (but I like to "feel the burn." Makes me feel like I actually did something). We stayed within range of the lions and giraffes (that's where all the excitement was!).

My heart breaks a little every time I see animals looking "trapped" like this.

Class, meet Melman and Mandela.
Say, "Hi!" everyone.

After our mini zoo adventure we were supposed to call it a day, but instead, we took a drive down to the boardwalk. But of course, mother nature came out to play again. Within 2mins of pulling up to the boardwalk, rain began pouring (you'd swear we were in the midst of a tropical storm). We aborted our boardwalk plans and turned around to head back home (after which the rain immediately stopped), but nothing was about to stop me from getting some pictures (because we got stuck in a bit of traffic on the way back and the view was pretty amazing).