Day 3 - Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

It may not be San Diego zoo, but there are some pretty interesting animals at the zoo. Some of my favorites are the giant aardvark, the penguins, and the stingrays. They periodically have cool events at the zoo, such as the recent DinoAlive exhibit with life-like animatronic dinosaurs.

My favorite part of the zoo is the somewhat new Asian Gardens section (the closest thing Jacksonville has to a Japanese garden). A cool thing about the Asian Gardens are the spritzing water machines if you head into the bamboo forest. Perfect to cool off during a hot day.

Check out their website: www.jacksonvillezoo.org

From my previous Yelp review:

There were so many cool animals. Of course you have the regulars -- giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers, and bears (oh my). But then they have some really odd creatures here, such as the Giant Aardvark, Pygmy Marmoset, and Poison Dart Frogs. Not to mention the scary Boa Constrictor snake and the big flat pancake looking frog (I don't remember its name).

Of course being the home of the Jaguars, they have the jaguar exhibit and the similar cheetahs as well.

There are also cool activities they have for kids throughout the year. I hear there is the Spooktakular event in which kids come in costume and carve out pumpkins.

Also, if the kids get tired of exhibits and want to run freely, they have a water play area, so make sure you bring some extra clothes they can slosh around in.

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