Lowry Park Zoo

Since we wanted to go to the beach and the zoo and both were in the same area, we figured it'd make more sense to fit them both into one day. After the beach, we headed to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, which is apparently voted the #1 zoo in the country by Parents Magazine! It was really cute and they had a lot of different kinds of animals from different parts of the world.

What I was most excited about was that they have giraffe feedings! So I got to feed a giraffe again! I got lucky because when we first got to the giraffe exhibit, all the giraffes were at the other end of their pen, waiting to be let in at their fence. But after moving on and then coming back, one of the giraffes was coming over to the feeding platform and I ran right up there to feed him! I got to feed him lettuce and he was super cute.

I wish I could've pet him, but there were signs saying not to. :\ It was definitely a lot more relaxed and pleasant than my first giraffe-feeding experience. At the first one, the woman who worked at the zoo was rushing us and pestering us about how to hold the branches. She was just all around rude, and it kind of put a damper on the whole experience. But this time, I got to just hold out the lettuce without anyone on my case and let him eat it out of my hand!

Dress: H&M//Shoes: Rialto//Bag: Forever 21//Sunglasses: H&M

A lot of the animals were sleeping or just kind of laying around lazily. Most of them are nocturnal, so I guess that's why they weren't very active during the afternoon. The orangutans were very active, though. They're so interesting to watch because they're so human-like in their mannerisms and behavior. They're one of the smartest monkeys out there. The cutest thing I saw was an adult and baby monkey cuddled together. They looked just like people!

I love being able to see all kinds of animals I'd probably never be able to if zoos didn't exist. I'd love to go see giraffes out in the wild in Africa. There's actually this place in Narobi called Giraffe Manor which is a sort of resort that actually has giraffes right on their property for you to interact with! Gaahh...it'd be so awesome! Of course, it'd also be super expensive, but a girl can dream... :)