the zoo without the animals

so in my quest to keep the bean entertained and occupied during winter break, we bought tickets to check out the l.a. zoo lights.  i wasn't sure what to expect, but i figured it had to be more fun than sitting at home watching t.v.  and to make it even better, i managed to talk my co-leader into coming with her kids too.

it was butt ass cold.  well, at least for this group of soCA residents, anyway.  but we had fun walking through the exhibits - although all of the animals were all put away for the night.  the only live animals we got to see were these reindeer who looked extremely bored and super over it.

there were plenty of lights, though, as promised.

and "monkeys" up in the trees.

the bean had fun, though, especially when we bought the kids tokens to ride the carousel.

group photo!

and more lights.

we couldn't leave without at least one treat, right?  and the aroma of the fresh kettle corn was pretty enticing.

but it gets better - we capped off our evening here:

i enjoyed my "eclipse" - a mix of lemonade, orange juice and fruit punch.

and we loved checking out the art on the walls.

i'm usually a fan of the #9 - the obama special: three wings and a waffle.  but i was feeling extra hungry, so i veered from my usual and ordered a #1 - the scoes:  1/4 chicken, fried to perfection, and two delicious waffles with butter and warm syrup.

holy moly, my mouth is watering just looking at that.  i could totally eat that right now.