As anybody who has driven along the Cross Bronx Expressway, or seen Paul Newman's 1981 film Fort Apache - The Bronx, can tell you, the Bronx is not one of the world's garden spots. However, New York City's northernmost borough proudly boasts one of the nations finest zoos, the New York Botanical Garden, and an American League baseball team.

The Bronx Zoo, also known as the New York Zoological Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society, has been a New York City landmark for over a century. As far as Alex was concerned, though, the Bronx and its Zoo were merely a fun place in which to stomp around on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

At left, Alex poses at the Zoo with his father and an unidentified zebra. At right, we see Alex and his mother.

Once you've paid your parking and entrance fees, you will probably want to keep your wallet handy. Like many other attractions that charge admission fees, the Bronx Zoo is a place where you can get a hot dog and a soda for just under ten dollars! Also, while in the Zoo there are additional charges for the Skyfari, the Bengali Express monorail, the Zoo Shuttle, camel rides, and the Children's Zoo.

On this visit, Alex and his family declined to ride the Skyfari, which consists of box-like cars suspended from a cable that stretches across the Zoo. Alex did however, take great pleasure in watching the Skyfari cars from the safety of the ground. He would repeatedly point skyward at the dangling metal boxes and yell, "BOAT!" He had as much fun watching the flying boats as he did looking at any of the zoo animals.

Alexander got his first close look at a live camel when he and his mother paused for a moment at the camel ride. A camel has large flat feet, skinny toothpick legs, a large barrel of a torso, and a lower jaw that continuously moves side to side, rather than up and down. The ride, which costs $3.00 and lasts about two minutes, is staffed by four camels (and several humans.) While two of the camels are on duty, the other two are allowed to rest. Fortunately, none of the camels were offering cigarettes to the children.

While Alex was indifferent to some of the animals (antelopes and their kin, for example, may be beautiful in the wild, but, frankly, they make for rather boring zoo animals) he took genuine delight in others. He was fascinated by the antics of the otters, who he referred to as "kitty cats." He watched intently as a rhinocerous attempted to lift a fallen tree with its head. He patiently waved to the gorillas, who never waved back. And he took particular pleasure in pointing to the elephants and telling everybody what they were.

While in the Zoo's Reptile House, Alexander discovered this statue of a komodo dragon. Alex spent a great deal of time climbing on and off this statue, which he referred to as a "turtle." Finally, Alex's parents literally had to pry him off the statue, and hustle him outside before he had a chance to get upset. Alex has a broader definition of a turtle than most other herpatologists. Any lizard, it seems, can be classified as a turtle. Even a snake.