Washington Park Zoo Train

After mid-day naps on Sunday, our fantastic four -- armed with snacks and sunglasses -- headed to the zoo. But animals weren't on the agenda this time. Instead, we went straight to the train station and bought tickets for the next train. In about 12min., we were loaded onto the front passenger car (per Kiel's request), as close to the diesel engine as possible. I could reach out and touch it, look down and see the joist holding us together. Matt and I traded off holding kids, whispering in ears. At times comforting, but mostly excitedly pointing out points of interest along the way and sharing the experience heart-to-heart.

 

The train winds its way through Washington Park and has one stop at the halfway point. This station just happens to be near the International Rose Test Garden, a gigantic oasis of beauty and fragrance in an otherwise woody forest.

 Isn't he the cutest, smelling those roses? He can't stop talking about this, the train, our trip. And, Matt got such awesome shots, especially of the roses. 

The place floored me, and we only saw about 1/10th of it! Looking forward to taking a proper picnic back soon. There's a huge playground downhill as well, so we have much more exploring to do here! We got back on the last train of the evening, around 6pm, and rode the 35 min back with blissful smiles and happy hearts. As we wound our way out of the zoo, we couldn't resist a few visits with the residents.

 Goodnight, Mr. Polar Bear. 

My idea of a perfect day,

m