Yesterday We decided to take the boys down to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the new Lionel Train attraction.

Convoy of Blue Heading to the Zoo

It was a gorgeous fall day and we practically had the place to ourselves.

We have learned from the past few months that Ben does not like crowded places, so we were very pleased to see everything so wide open. And if you remember, last time I had to climb up this structure and pull Ben out after he refused to move. Later we ascertained he didn’t like getting crowded out by the other kids, that he felt rushed and as a result he would either push back or freeze in his spot.

Yesterday he was all smiles. He climbed through easily and when we explained he could not go through the exit he didn’t throw a fit, but instead nicely climbed down and started at the entrance. Later, when a few other kids joined he was able to keep his cool and share the structure.

We also saw a black bear in this same area, the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, for the first time ever.

In fact, perhaps because of the cooler weather, we got to see lots of animals!

Tiger exhibit

Seal Exhibit

At the gorilla exhibit, we even had an ape climb over to a tree right in front of us and pee. Jack and Ben laughed about that for ages.

Finally we made it to the new train exhibit…

It’s much better than the last train. They built a track for it to run on, unlike the old one which just went in a circle in a roped off corner of the zoo. And it’s the same price as the old one, $3 a ride.