Chicago, Part 2, zoo

One of the many, many great things about Chicago is the free Lincoln Park Zoo. It's $17 to park, but we got around that by finding a space in the neighborhood. We met Noni at Subway on a picturesque Monday -- the nicest day during a rainy week -- and then were off to see the monkeys, lions and tigers ...

... and to play in a tire. That's where Austin's sitting below, in a tire full of tire bits, at the giant barn that's just to the southwest of the zoo grounds.

Austin loved sitting in the tire and playing with the rubber bits, which were just like the sand and dirt he so adores -- but without the mess! Brilliant!

Austin also got an up-close and personal view of some chicks ...

... as well as some bees (thanks for holding me up, Daddy!).

Austin also crawled through a giant egg. Man, so much fun stuff to see and do, and we haven't even entered the real zoo yet!

Once we did, Austin, per usual, most enjoyed being able to press right up against the glass, regardless of whether he could see any animals. As you can see below, a baby gorilla was nearby, but Austin was looking the other way.

He seemed to be tiring about halfway through our adventure, requiring some cuddle time with Mommy. But he didn't fall asleep until after we left the zoo. (Newsflash: Babies are unpredictable.)

Just to make sure he was good and tired, we took Austin to the park adjacent to the zoo and let him run around. As you might notice, he's wearing a different hat in the final picture than in the one above. We unfortunately lost the cap that matched the baseball outfit Noni bought for him. But that hardly put a damper on Austin's first trip to Lincoln Park Zoo.