Friday afternoon at 12:00 P.M., Lora called and said she and the kids were going to the Grassmere Zoo in Nashville, and she asked if I wanted to go with them.
She came by, picked me up, and we rode to Nashville. Santana was with them.
At Grassmere Zoo, I had my camera with me, so I was taking pictures while Bucko pushed Meadow in her wheelchair.
We went to the Grassmere Zoo at 3777 Nolensville Road, Nashville, TN 37211, 615-833-1534.
In the Savannah loop, we saw three brown African Elephants, Hadari, Sukari, and Kiba. They were standing next to a giant boulder, one of the elephants was holding a large stick with his trunk, and a Zookeeper was standing with them.
We saw one giraffe bending down to eat the lush green grass, while another stood straight and tall. There are six different types of giraffes at the Grassmere Zoo: reticulated and Masai giraffes.
We also saw a couple of Red River Hogs. They are very sociable animals; they can weigh up to 250 pounds and get up to three feet tall.
We saw one giraffe bending down to eat the lush green grass, while another stood straight and tall. There are six different types of giraffes at the Grassmere Zoo: reticulated and Masai giraffes.
We also saw a couple of Red River Hogs. They are very sociable animals; they can weigh up to 250 pounds and get up to three feet tall.
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| African Elephants |
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| Giraffe |
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| Red River Hogs |
At the Central Zoo, we saw the beautiful blue Macaw, gibbons at Gibbon Island, the dens of the meerkats, seahorses, and many other reptiles and fish in the unseen New World.
The kids climbed inside the glass that leads into the middle of the meerkat's dens to get an up-close view of the meerkats.
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| Visiting the Meerkats |
The kids stopped to play in the jungle gym, and we watched a bird show at the amphitheater.
In the Jungle, we saw a white tiger, lynx, red-ruffed lemur, ring-tailed lemur, cougars, red-crowned crane, red panda, porcupines, and tapir. We stopped at Alligator Cove to watch the alligators. The flamingo lagoon was filled with pink flamingos, and the kids could touch the animals at critter encounters and Kangaroos Kickabout.
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| Critter Encounter |
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| Alligator Cove |
We left Grassmere Zoo and rode down I-40 to Opry Mills Mall, which took about 12 minutes and was about 8 miles.
Lora parked near the entrance of the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills.
At the Rainforest Cafe, we were seated in the Tuki section, where the amusing and curious baby elephant, Meadow, was mimicking.
Lora and I split a tomato-basil wrap layered with portabella mushrooms, red onions, roasted red peppers, and spinach, rolled and tossed in roasted garlic balsamic dressing.
We all shared an excellent appetizer adventure: two or more featuring Chimi-Cha-Chas, Spinach & artichoke dip with tri-color chips and cheese sticks, served with chicken tenders and fresh guacamole, marinara, and coconut curry sauce, and for dessert, we ordered an out-of-this-world Sparkling Volcano.
We walked around the mall looking inside many of the shops; it had been an inspiring day.
We started the two-hour ride home, all the kids fell asleep, and we were home by 12 P.M.
