I recently visited San Antonio and had a couple of hours to spend at their zoo.... I love visiting zoos!
Since my previous employer, Schipul - The Web Marketing Company, created the Houston Zoo Web site and I've had the opportunity to visit it several times, I always compare it to the other ones I've visited.
So far, I've visited zoos in Chicago, National Zoo in Washington D.C., New Orleans, Caracas (Venezuela), San Antonio and Houston.
Well, out of the zoos I've visited I really like the Houston, D.C. ... but my favorite zoo is now in San Antonio. I have yet to visit the San Diego Zoo, which I hear is mecca! But the San Antonio Zoo could teach the Houston Zoo quite a lot.
In most cases, I was just a few feet away from the animals. The animals were all very active (not sure what they do, but it's true). The habitats were unbelievably beautiful and fitting for each type of animal. I really enjoyed visiting it even though I was unable to see it all.
I've been visiting the Houston Zoo for over 20 years and have seen amazing improvements... but after seeing their counterpart just 3 hours to the west, I was amazed by the difference. I actually shouldn't have been surprised because San Antonio has always had a strong focus on tourism - starting with the creation of the river walk in the 1940's - THAT'S VISION! Who was thinking about tourism in Texas in the 1940's???
If you are ever in the Alamo city, you should definitely visit the San Antonio Zoo, I highly recommend it. Now if I could just get them to become a Schipul client.... hmmm :)
If you want to see some of the photos I took at the San Antonio Zoo, go to my Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/japi14
