I was born and raised in Birmingham,Alabama and our house was just down the street from the zoo. My parents would always take me there because I loved it so much. I never got tired of the animals and their antics. My favorite memory however is sitting outside at night when all the traffic noises had died down from the day and you could actually hear the lions roaring and on occasion an elephant too, but usually just the lions. It was almost surreal to hear them and I have to admit it added more than a bit of wonder and imagination to my childhood.
I live in Connecticut now and the two things I miss the most are the Birmingham Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. Of all the ones I have seen since I moved here,none of them compare to the ones in Birmingham.