6. Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens

Always a lot to see at the Jax Zoo. You can do this in 1/2 day. We recently visited again and the Jaguar was out...always cool to see. If you go now, they have the Stingray exhibit. The kids can pet the stingrays, but be prepared to pay an extra fee for this exhibit. The other item of note on this particular trip was that the Rhinos were fighting. Pretty intense! You can see video of all these animals and more in "Our Day at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens" video at http://ww.armadillopepper.com and click on the "Fun Stuff" link.

I love Zoos. I always try to visit one whenever I can in any area I am visiting. Thus I have visited the Atlanta, Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans and Washington DC zoos. While these may have larger collections, I still did not enjoy any of them as much as I enjoyed the Jacksonville Zoo. The layout, the walk-in aviaries, and the opportunity to see the animals very close up and from different angles really makes a huge difference. I especially loved the Giraffe overlook where you can (under the supervision of the staff) touch the Giraffes, and also the Lori aviary where you get to feed the Loris while they swarm all over you (at one time I had two standing on the top of my head and another 7 climbing on my arms).