Issue #44
Last Update March 2, 2006
New York Wild Animals Light Up the Bronx By Dave Sear On a chilly late December afternoon I packed up my three-year-old grand daughter, my son-in-law and my wife and headed off to two of New York City’s prime family attractions, The New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. These side by side venerable neighbors, one north and one south of Pelham Parkway, still offer one of the best plant and animal shows to be found any where in the world.
Our first stop was the Botanical Garden where with its magnificent old stately greenhouses, one can wonder on a bitter cold winter day through a warm jungle tropical rain forest filled with a huge assortment of beautifully laid out and presented plants. The highlight of the exhibition at the end was rooms filled with model railroad trains running through plants and forests to recreations of model landmark buildings of the City of New York such as City Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of art and a score of others.
We ended our visit at the Garden with excellent coffee, hot chocolate and delicious snacks in a warm and comfortable setting.
From there we headed across Pelham Parkway to the Bronx Zoo as the sun was going down and the light show was beginning. We arrived in time to see three grand giraffes in their attractive indoor home and two hungry elephants in theirs. Leaving the elephant house after dark in the central part of the zoo we were struck by the outline of the zoo’s animals in lights. This is truly a magnificent light show that can easily compete with anything Disney has to offer. The zoo’s animals are outlined in light and they truly light up the zoo and they light up the Bronx.
We ended our visit with my granddaughter taking a ride on the zoo’s railroad train and a visit to the children’s petting zoo where she took delight in feeding the animals and we in watching her.
The New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo still offer one of the best family outings in New York City and these shows will be on until the weather warms.
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