Philly, Day 4: Camels, Okapis, and Aye-Ayes, Oh My!

Saturday in Philly was to be Katie's big day.  Our animal lover immediately requested visiting America's oldest zoo when she found out that we were going to Philadelphia.  And, the zoo certainly didn't disappoint!  (As a matter of fact, aside from the cost factor, we think it blows our National Zoo out of the water.)  Some highlights from the visit:

 Traci was absolutely through-the-roof excited to finally meet her favorite animal in person.  Can anybody name what it is?  The keeper was nice enough to come talk to us about it for awhile.  Traci could have just stayed there all day long....

After meeting the okapi, we ventured onward to find the kids' requested animals.  Katie sought out the cheetah (one of her all-time favorites) and Michael wanted the aye-aye (just because it sounds cool).  The search for the reclusive aye-aye almost killed us, and when we found it, it was displayed in total darkness behind curtains as it is nocturnal.  So, in essence, we couldn't see it.  Oh well...at least it was in the same house as the apes and monkeys!

And what day at the zoo could be complete without a ride on a camel?  The kids were only disappointed that it wasn't longer.

Once we finished up at the zoo, we left the metropolitan area and headed west for about an hour to Lancaster County.  We were set to visit the Dutch Wonderland amusement park the next morning, but we devoted Saturday afternoon to catching up with an old high school buddy of Traci's.  A big, big thanks goes out to Chad, Katy, Maddie, and Chase for welcoming us to their home, feeding us scrumptious, homemade food, and letting us play with all of their toys.  It was so nice to catch up and watch the kids bond.