Stingray Fun at Caribbean Cove!

Years ago, in a galaxy far far away, my mom, brother, and I were supposed to go on a Stingray excursion while on a cruise. But because of weather conditions that day, we weren't able to get into the water and swim with the stingrays as planned.

Finally, our thirst and need to feel the stingrays has been quenched!

The St. Louis Zoo has had a Stingray Exhibit these last two years, and the day we left for St. Louis, I saw a commercial on TV saying that they were back!

So, we put a trip to the Zoo on the top of our 'To Do' list, and I am so glad that we did!

It was awesome!

Daddy and Alex had lots of fun! Alex was a little bit too intimidated to stick his arm too far into the water, but was perfectly content to lay on the edge in the comfort and safety of Daddy's arms.

Grandma's vindication!

The stingrays felt amazing...very smooth, but also bumpy. They seemed to like being petted a little bit, and you could really feel their bodies. I think I was expecting them to feel hard, but only the outer part was hard, the middle of their bodies really felt soft and 'body' like. Did I mention how awesome this was?!

Stingray's tails grow like our hair and nails do, so the zookeepers trim them with the same clippers used to clip dog nails.

The exhibit had both Cownose and Southern stingrays. All of the stingrays in these pictures are Cownose, the Southern stingrays were much larger, black, and swam at the very bottom of the pool. None of us got to touch those, but that was okay with me because like I said, they were larger (and maybe a little bit scarier).

Thanks to all the stingrays that let us pet them...you guys are so so sweet and gentle and I wish we could visit you every day!