On Saturday, our little family took a trip to the Oakland Zoo! I’d never been, and had been telling Dan that we should take Mio once the weather got warmer — since Saturday was surprisingly warm, we seized the opportunity to finally go! Our friends Kayo and Sung-kook and their 16-month old son Jinwoo also happened to be free that day, so we invited them to come with us.

I grew up going to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, which is pretty impressive and much larger, but I really enjoyed visiting the Oakland Zoo for the first time. It was very clean, well-maintained, and very child-friendly — there were lots of open areas where children could run around and climb onto animal sculptures, and a petting zoo where they could actually touch some of the sheep and goats. I think the more intimate  size of the zoo actually works in favor for parents with young children, because you can get through the whole zoo (or a lot of it, at least), without getting too exhausted but still be able to see all the animals that kids love to see (monkeys, giraffes, lions, tigers, elephants. etc.).

It was of course Mio’s first time at the zoo, and although she’s a little too young to truly appreciate it, she definitely seemed intrigued (and at times, perplexed) by some of the animals at the zoo. Here are some of my favorites from the photos we took at the zoo!

 

Showing Mio the tortoises
Showing Mio the tortoises

 

Hello, cutie!
16 month old Jinwoo

 

16-month old Jinwoo and 10-month old Mio
Jinwoo saying hi to Mio. "Long time, no see!"

 

Mio and Mama at the Oakland Zoo

 

Mio and Jinwoo
Mio and Jinwoo playing with the "snake eggs"

 

Mio and Mama by the snake eggs.

 

Mio looking into the stable.
Mio and Daddy at the petting farm section of the zoo.

 

Look at all those animals, Mio!
Mio looking at the sheep.

 

Sheep in the petting area.

 

A cautious Mio
A very cautious Mio petting the sheep.

 

Goats at the Oakland Zoo

 

"Don't come near me!"
Daddy took Mio right up to the goats.

 

She looks scared by the goats...
She looks quite apprehensive...

 

Brows furrowed to the max!
Brows furrowed to the max!

 

Daddy and Mio at the Oakland Zoo

 

The giraffes at the Oakland Zoo
The giraffes at the Oakland Zoo

 

Our family's first time at the Oakland Zoo
A family picture.

 

The Kim family, a month before their second baby's arrival!
Kayo, Sung-kook, and Jinwoo... soon to be a family of four!

 

Look at those magnificent stripes!
A tiger with magnificent stripes!

 

Walking through the Oakland Zoo

 

Lions at the Oakland Zoo
We ended our trip with the lions - the king of the jungle!

 

You can see the full set of photos we took on our outing to the Oakland Zoo in the slideshow below: