La. Purchase Gardens & Zoo

on the last day of our visit, on the way out to the airport, we gave ourselves enough time to stop by Monroe's Zoo. I (nor Mother for that matter), had been since I was a child. Its in a rough neighborhood outside of town, surrounded by abject poverty and desolate living situations. So our expectations were low. I was braced to be quite depressed actually.

but to our surprise, it was beautiful and well maintained. not every exhibit was what it should or could have been, and one or two we did actually find to be quite bad (the Hippo House), but the vast majority of the zoo was happy, clean, and very professionally presented. The grounds and landscaping were fantastic too.

the zoo is crossed by a maze of picturesque canals; as we stood on an arching wooden bridge, two swans swam beneath us. Peacocks roamed freely on the sidewalks, and the girls could not believe their eyes while standing next to real live flamingos.

the 'australian' section

leaving for the airport - it was a great way to end what had been a truely fun and relaxing vacation