Mommy Date at the Kansas City Zoo

In my opinion, one of the hardest things to do, in the fast-paced world we live in, is maintaining relationships. Whether you work a 9 to 5, you're a homemaker, or an entrepreneur we all have extremely busy lives. I even find it difficult to stay tapped in with my immediate family, let alone extended family, church members, co-workers, industry associates... sometimes I just want to spend time with my girl friends. So naturally, when one of my good friends, Janisha hit me on Instagram like "girl, we need to hang out it's been too long", I was extremely disheartened upon my realization that it had basically been a YEAR since we last hung out. How does time fly so effortlessly... who knows really? Either way, we put this date on the calendar three weeks in advanced and the plans stuck! So... we met at the zoo!

I love that the Kansas City Zoo allows you to bring your own food and drink. Janisha was equipped with a stroller, and I with a backpack. So, we hauled around our individually wrapped cookie packets, fruit snacks, bananas, water bottles and Lunchables. I try my best to "pack light" so instead of bringing juice boxes we brought along Crystal Light to flavor our water!

Now, when we met up, I had no idea that my girl friend had an annual membership to the Zoo. She let me know that she has the premier package which allows entry for two adults and all of her guest under 18 years old. So, we piggy-backed on her pass (thanks friend) and saved a few dollars.

Honestly, if you live in the Kansas City metro area, that pass is well worth the $170. It's such a good deal that I'm thinking about grabbing one for myself. Not only that, but the Zoo is so big that you can really spend 4 hours (like we did) roaming around half of the estate. 

On this particular day we started with the Animal Live show, hosted in the main entrance building. The show lasted about 40 minutes, but the kids were truly amazed by the various birds shown off in the auditorium. The birds were obviously taught a routine and some even soared through the air and showed off their wingspan. We even saw a porcupine and boa constructor , which was really cute! “Mommy, look at how big that snake is.” Even Janisha and I laughed at the comedic flare added into the skit. 

Afterward, we were on to the new Aquarium and let me start by saying- What an amazing addition to the Kansas City Zoo! The kids loved the new aquatic experience. Seriously, there were even sharks, and the fish were beautiful. 

I’ve always been a fan of how our local zoo has an “open concept”, for lack of better words. Seeing animals in cages is depressing. But at the Kansas City Zoo they are free to roam around in most exhibits, especially on the Africa route. Between the Sky Lift, the Ferry and the train you can spend hours and hours exploring. It's definitely a must see if you ever visit Kansas City.