“Expectations are 
resentments 
waiting to happen.”
Anne Lamott

I had not visited the San Francisco Zoo in many years… until yesterday. Kathy and I spent a few hours wandering around the venue enjoying a comfortably overcast San Francisco day. I know I visited the zoo with my kids when they were toddlers, but my sons are now 40, 38, and 34, so it’s been a while. 

The last time I was there, the main entrance to the zoo was on Sloat Boulevard, between 45th and 46th Avenues. Now, the entrance and parking lot are situated where Fleischhacker Pool used to be located. The 6.5 million gallon saltwater pool, which was 1,000 feet long and 150 feet wide, closed in 1971. It was so large, lifeguards patrolled the water in row boats. 

In my younger days, the children’s play area in the zoo included a real life-size train engine and an authentic San Francisco cable car. One of the highlights of a visit to the zoo at that time was observing the antics of the monkeys on Monkey Island. All of these things are gone now.

To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of keeping animals in cages and enclosures in a zoo setting. It just didn’t feel right to me, even in my younger days. I was reminded of this during our visit yesterday.

The senior discount allowed us to enter the zoo for $24 each. I’m fairly certain it’s the first time I’ve ever paid to enter the San Francisco Zoo, a venue I’ve visited well over sixty times. The zoo began charging admission in May 1970. Prior to that, entry to the zoo was totally free. I wouldn’t have minded the cost we paid yesterday if our experience had been a little different. In many of the animal exhibits and enclosures, no animals could be seen. The Little Puffer Train was not operating, which was a bit surprising considering that yesterday was a Wednesday during the summer and the zoo was filled with hundreds of children, some with parents, others with summer camp programs visiting the zoo for the day.

Even the Terrace Café, a favorite hangout of the Silver Tree Day Camp staff in the ‘60s and ’70, when the camp day on Wednesday mornings began at the zoo, was closed yesterday. I knew things at the zoo had changed, but yes, I had still had a few expectations, many of which went unfulfilled.

On that note, I’ll share a few photos I took yesterday, along with a few I doctored-up using AI. Despite the disappointments, the day was a good one. My memories of yesterday’s visit to the San Francisco Zoo will be ones I will cherish for the rest of my life.