As I have stated in both my Quebec and Philadelphia journals I am not a big zoo fan and yet I return and return. The things a doting grandma will do to please her grandchild. In this case it was our grandson Brandon. All of seven years old and as sophisticated as his younger brother Christian when it comes to zoo visits. This particular visit took place in the summer of 2005. There was a wonderful special exhibit of dinosaurs which Brandon wanted to see and we wanting to please him took the two hour trip for an afternoon at the zoo.
Roger Williams Zoo is on the outskirts of the city. I didn’t realize this and drove around aimlessly before finally calling them to get directions. Don’t be me, go to their website and print out the directions. directions
The entrance fee was $12 for adults and $6 for children over 3. Happily, parking was free. I have to admit that I really like this zoo. You don’t fee like you are near a large city, it really has a forest feel. We began our visit with the dinosaurs and it was a great exhibit, which had an encore in 2006. There was one dinosaur in particular that would spit water every so often when you least expected it.
The zoo began as a small menagerie of animals in 1872 and has grown to over 1500 animals today with at least 150 species represented at all times. With about forty acres it is very manageable. We walked through the "Silk Road" exhibit following the trail of Marco Polo. We meandered through the Plains of Africa where we watched the Elephants, tortoises and the Giraffes go about their daily lives.
Who wouldn’t be fascinated by Penguins? We were however very disappointed to find that the Polar Bear exhibit was closed for renovations. This is one of their most famous and popular exhibits and is promising to come back better than ever. We did however see the Red wolf which is another of their popular residents.
There are plenty of birds too from the cranes to ducks and the barnyard with the miniature donkey is a must. Primates, the ever present reptiles and a more unusual tree kangaroo round out a very well balanced zoo.
Roger Williams park was designed by Horace Cleveland in 1878 and is acknowledged as one of the finest urban historic parks in the world. Built on land donated by a descendant of Roger Williams the founder of Providence makes it of particular historic interest. Be sure to find the beautiful statue of Roger not far from the entrance of the park.
As we were leaving we passed a wedding party having their pictures taken under the rose arbor. There is a boathouse where you can rent swan paddle boats if you want to enjoy some additional family fun.
From journal Providence-America's Renaissance City