Christmas at the Aquarium

This morning we had reservations for Breakfast With Santa at the aquarium. So we had to get an early start. Marina decided to wear her mermaid scales dress. Ainsley wore the same dress as last night. Fortunately we didn’t run into much traffic and we arrived right on time.

We met more friends for breakfast. We had a bit of a wait for our table and when we were finally seated we were very disappointed with our table. It was a booth that was too crowded for all of us and we couldn’t see the tank at all. We asked for another table but were told they didn’t have one. So breakfast wasn’t as fun as we hoped. Santa came by our table when we asked, so we got a couple for photos.

After breakfast, some of us decided to go through the aquarium. We’ve been many times, but we all still enjoy it. One of the tigers was pacing around and the stingrays were friendly in the touch pool. After we went through once, we decided to go back and see the mermaid show.

We hung around for the mermaid meet and greet, then we headed for home.

Fun on the Farm

For the past few years, Marina and I have gone to a corn maze in the fall. This year we decided to try a new one. It was about an hour drive to get there and traffic made it take even longer.

When we arrived, we could see that this was more than a corn maze – it was a fall festival. After we bought our tickets and entered the farm we saw Cinderella posing for photos in front of a pumpkin coach. We got into the short line for that. Marina also took a look inside the coach.

We walked around and saw farm animals, including goats and llamas. There were crafts and farm equipment to look at as well. We decided to take the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. One the way we heard that the snow we had a few days ago damaged many of the pumpkins. But it was fun anyway. The pumpkin patch was huge and filled with pumpkins on many varieties and colors. We found two small pretty ones that we decided to buy.

After we got back from the pumpkin patch, we tried out the corn maze. We didn’t realize there were three different mazes at first. The one we chose ended up being the longest one and without items to find. Fortunately we were able to get through it without getting lost. Once we did that we tried the murder mystery maze. Marina used the map and was able to direct us to all the clues. We were too tired to try the last maze though.

By that time we were ready to go home. We hadn’t even looked around the entire farm. But we enjoyed our day.

Return to the Enchanted Hallows

Last year the zoo started a fall evening event called Enchanted Hallows. We enjoyed it last year, so we decided to try it again. This year they were also advertising a Bigfoot encounter.

When we arrived it was not dark yet. We decided to start at the Bigfoot Encounter. They had a large glittery cut out of Bigfoot on display there. Marina wanted to go through the tropical exhibit, so we went in to look at the animals. While we were inside, Marina befriended a little boy.

When we left the building, we heard the sea lions barking. We couldn’t see them very well since there were no lights in the area. But they were really loud for a while. The giraffe house was also open, so we went in there for a while. We spent some time talking with one of the keepers. 

As we walked through the zoo, we saw their new 4D Movie Theater. A show was about to start, so we decided to see it. It was a shortened version of Smallfoot. That featured a lot of bumping around, pokes in the back and a few water sprays in our faces. It definitely kept us on our toes.

We followed the path to the elephants. We saw them inside their house and the fishing cat who was sitting inside a hollow log.

This year there was an interactive art walk near the carousel. Inside we found a giant owl. Marina sat on the chair inside and was able to move the wings and the eyes. We also saw bubbling water and a glowing crystal ball. Near the exit there were two realistic looking scarecrows that freaked Marina out and the Headless Horseman.

As we made our way out, we bought hot chocolate since we were a bit chilly. We went through the predators and saw the African Wild Dogs sleeping all snuggled together. Marina loved that.

When we completed the loop through the zoo, we walked to the car and went home.

Hot Day at the Zoo

Marina and I slept in this morning. And after a leisurely start to the day, we decided to go to the zoo this afternoon. It was a beautiful day but very hot. We found a place to park quickly and went right in.

We started at Predator Ridge where we found four lions resting in the shadows of their exhibit. Right next to that was an African wild dog sleeping right next to the glass. Marina loved looking at it. We walked along and saw the cheetah, kangaroos and water buffalos.

We stopped for lunch at our favorite barbecue place. After she ate, Marina wanted ice cream. She chose the Oreo flavor. Then we headed back through the zoo.

We went through the Asian exhibit because Marina wanted to see the otters. When we arrived at their enclosure they were all sleeping. It was adorable! Across the way was the fishing cat. We rarely see them because they tend to hide, but today it was prowling around. We watched it for a while and it kept eyeing us, but with each pass through the exhibit, it got closer to us. It never came up to the glass as we were hoping.

We next saw two elephants that seemed to be messing around with each other. It was fun to watch them tussle with each other. We headed to the tiger exhibit but none of them were outside, so we went on to see the seals and then the sea lions. One sea lion was barking at something, but what it was we never saw.

By the time we made the full loop around the zoo we were both very hot and ready to get out of the sun. So we went home to cool off.

The King Has Returned

This evening we invited one of Marina's friends to join us seeing The Lion King. We ordered dinner and settled into watch the movie. It was much like the original animated version, but the animals looked more realistic. Of course, the girls loved them!

We all enjoyed the movie. After it was over, we headed home. The girls went into Marina’s room and put themselves to bed.

Marina and the Wolf

We had tickets to Peter and the Wolf at the symphony and Marina wanted to dress as a wolf. She wore the wolf hat I bought her last year at the Red Riding Hood opera with a grey dress and black leggings. Then with makeup she added a black nose and whiskers. She looked so cute!

We ran into more traffic than we expected going to the concert hall. But we managed to park in the garage and get through security with time to get drinks before going to our seats. As we went to tour seats, the symphony photographer asked if he could get a photo of ”the wolf.” Marina was happy to oblige. The crowd arrived fairly late, so the show was delayed in starting.

This performance featured a mime troop. Early on we were introduced to Maggie who played the part of Peter. The musicians who played the parts of the animals stood in for them. Even the conductor Christopher Dragon got involved in the action as the grumpy grandfather. It was a fun performance to watch.

As we left, many children admired Marina’s costume. She loved that!

Festive Fun with Fish and Friends

Breakfast with Santa has become an annual tradition for us. Once again, we invited our friends to join us. Marina wore her elf dress again. We all met at the aquarium.

This year our seats were in the middle of the dining room. However, several of the tables near us were not occupied which allowed us to see the tanks better. We were all hungry, so we got into line for food right away. Marina came back with a fully loaded plate!

While we were eating, Santa came by the table and we took some photos. We enjoyed the mermaid show and then Santa and his elf swimming in the tank.

We decided to go to into the Aquarium after breakfast. One of them had never been there before so he was particularly fascinated by the exhibits. We made sure he saw the flash flood demonstration and we arrived early for the mermaid show for good seats.

When we reached the end of the exhibit, everyone got photos taken with a mermaid and they touched a ray in the feeding pool. Marina and I bought tickets for the 4D theater. The show was Sharks. The experience was intense but it was fun. Once we saw the show we were ready to go home.

Zoo Lights

For the past few years, we have gone to my alumni night at Zoo Lights with Chuck and Judy. We also invited more friends to join us. Marina and I arrived earlier than everyone else. When we went to buy our tickets, we were gifted two that someone else had purchased but weren’t able to use. They only asked that we sing a Christmas carol to get them. Marina didn’t want to, but I sang, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” without her.

A few minutes later, everyone showed up. We went inside and to wait in line for Santa. Mrs. Claus had just finished story time, so we got a photo with her while we waited. When it was finally our turn, we had our picture taken with Santa and the mascot.

After the photo was taken, we were ready to see the lights. We participated in the scavenger hunt, but it turned out to be much more difficult than last year. Our friends were particularly interested in Tropical Discovery, although they were disappointed that none of the Komodo Dragons were on display.

After we got through the zoo, Marina and I left while everyone else went shopping. We have school and work tomorrow, so we needed to get home.

Another Boo at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo has been a Halloween tradition for us since Marina was a baby. Today was the only day we could go this year, so despite the fact that we were at the zoo last night, we came back again this morning. When we arrived parking was already crazy. I found a spot but it was pretty far away from the zoo so we had a long walk before we got there.

The set up was different this year and the trick or treat stations were smaller and easier to miss. We didn’t see any character meet and greets this year either. When we reached our favorite restaurant Marina was ready to eat lunch. After I ordered we were lucky to find a table in the shade to sit at. We both enjoyed our lunch.

We looked at more animals after lunch. We walked along some of the bird paths we usually don’t follow and went through the Asian animals. All the elephant were outside and the tapir was running around it’s enclosure and making noises. Inside we saw five otters playing and chattering at each other. Marina was thrilled that the fisher cat was inside a log in its exhibit.

We went through the rest of the zoo and stopped at all the treat stations. On our way out we saw two lionesses in Predator Ridge, so we stopped to look at them for a while before making the long journey back to the car.

Enchanted Hollows

This year the Zoo has a new nighttime event for Halloween. Marina and I were interested in checking it out. She wore her Sayori costume, We arrived early and found that it wasn’t crowded at all.

The zoo was decorated with pumpkins, sculptures and some of the scary animals from zoo lights. We saw a few lions in their enclosure. We moved on to look at the hyenas when we heard an animal roaring. We went back to the lions and saw one standing on a log roaring. It was fun to see.
As we moved through the zoo, we stopped to speak with a volunteer who told us that many of the zoo animals are “crepuscular” meaning they are most active at dawn and twilight. We walked by the flamingos and saw them all sleeping very close to the fence. We’d never seen them that close before.


In Asian exhibit we went inside and saw three otters playing. After we finished watching them, Marina turned around and we saw one of the elusive fisher cats looking at us. It quickly turned around and hid again. One of the tigers was also very active and roaring, so we watched it for a while.

Marina wanted to go into the tropical exhibit. She was particularly interested in the snakes tonight. Once we made the walk through the entire zoo we were ready to go home.

Animal Adventures

We decided to go to the zoo this afternoon. It was a beautiful warm day. We were fortunate to find parking easily despite lots of people being there. We went right inside. We stopped to watch an animal encounter were Marina got an up close look at a scorpion that glows in the dark. We moved on a looked at the water buffalo, rhinos and kangaroos. When we arrived at our favorite restaurant, we stopped for lunch.

This time we decided to stop at the Lorikeet Adventure so Marina could feed the birds. As we entered, some people who were leaving offered us half a cup of nectar. We were grateful to receive it. It took a few minutes, but we found a bird who she could reach to feed. After that one was done, she found one above her head to feed. This one wanted to take the paper cup away from her!

We went through the Asian Animals and Marina was disappointed that the Fishing Cats weren’t on view. We did see the otters napping though.

Marina wanted to go through tropical exhibit this time. We hadn’t gone through that exhibit for a while. Marina enjoyed looking at the various frogs, snakes and fish. She was especially interested in the Komodo Dragons. As we passed the sea lions we heard them barking at each other. We stopped for a while to watch three of them chasing each other around and playing.

We saw that the youngest giraffe was right over next to the new observation deck. So we went for a closer look. We hadn’t seen him that close before! Marina wanted to see some of the big cats before we left, but none were visible. So we decided to go home.

A Festival of Friends

It’s been a crazy summer and we hadn’t been to the Renaissance Festival yet this year. One of Marina's friends has wanted to go with us for years. So yesterday at her party we decided that she and her father would join us this year.
She dressed as Belle today. Marina had planned to dress as a fairy but it was foggy and cool this morning, so she changed into her Ariel costume instead.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived shortly after the festival opened. We saw Juniper the Fairy in front. Marina was happy to introduce her. We also saw our friend Princess Elizabeth on top of the gate. Except this year she is Queen Anne!

We started toward the jousting grounds so we could be there for the first round. On the way we saw the unicorn and the Owlmancer. Along the way the girls were happy to shop the jewelry and clothing stores.

For the first joust of the day we were in Sir Duncan’s section. Sir William was acting as Master of Ceremonies again this year. But we were able to talk to him briefly after the match was over.
We headed to the food court and the girls shopped more along the way. Marina and I shared our traditional turkey leg. While we ate we watched part of the Exotic Cat show. We stopped to see our favorite face painter where both girls picked a design to go with their costumes. Then we wandered the shops a while longer until it was time for the second joust.
 
For the second joust, both Marina and Ainsley bought favors for their favorite knight. Marina chose Sancho and her friend picked Duncan. Then after the joust was over, we took photos with both of them as well as Sir William.

We went to Juniper’s booth where Marina gave her a book with photos from last year. She was thrilled with it! Next we went for the Knighting ceremony where the Queen Mother and King of Ireland were presiding.

We stopped for snacks and went to the jousting ground for Princess Erin’s tea party. She had asked Marina t help out which she was more than happy to do. After everyone gathered, Queen Anne joined us for the party. After chatting about the festival, Princess Erin told a story with the Lord Chamberlain, the flag bearer, one of her ladies and Marina acting it out. Marina was a lady knight. She clearly enjoyed the role.

After the party we gave Queen Anne photos from last year when she was Princess Elizabeth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the book we gave her years ago and immediately added the photos! We took a few more with her and Princess Erin.

After the tea party, the girls wanted to go to the petting zoo to see the baby goats. Of course they squealed over them. They look a look at the rest of the animals before we left to watch the final joust. We got popcorn and found seats to watch it. The good knights triumphed over the bad guys.

We look our time going out. The girls rode a pirate swing and shopped some more. On the way out we said goodbye to Juniper and the jousters. Queen Anne was outside with King Henry, so we said goodbye to them as well. We watched the rest of the cast sing and dance for a few minutes before going back to the car. The girls were already making plans to go together next year on the way back.

Summer at the Zoo

The weather today was beautiful. So we decided to go to the zoo since we haven’t been in quite a while. The parking lot was crowded but we managed to get a parking space in the garage. We wandered around stopping to see the animals who were out in the sun. We got a good look at the kangaroos, Dall Sheep and found the cheetah hiding in the grass.

We were both thrilled to see the barbecue place we both like was open. So we stopped there for lunch. We both enjoyed the food before going through the rest of the zoo. We looked at all the primates. Marina, of course, wanted to see the tigers. We caught the seals swimming around and then looked at giraffes wandering through their habitat.

Marina was disappointed that the feline house was closed for renovations. But we talked about the renovations over the years that were shown on the signs. After walking through the whole zoo, we went back to the car and spent the rest of the day at home.

All About Animals

Since Marina had today off from school, I decided to take the day off. Marina slept late this morning which made her happy since the cats have been waking her up early lately.

After she was up for a little while, we got dressed to go out. We had planned to go to the museum to see their new exhibit, but since the weather was so beautiful, we decided to start at the Zoo.

The Zoo was crowded but we didn’t have any trouble finding a place to park. We walked a bit around the zoo looking at the cheetahs, mountain goats and rhinos before stopping for lunch. We ate at the Asian inspired restaurant near the elephants, the went on to the rest of the Zoo. Marina insisted we see the tigers and we also caught the sea lions swimming around a bit.

After our walk through the Zoo, we went to our original destination, the museum. We immediately went to the new temporary exhibit, Creatures of Light. Marina was a bit nervous going in because it was dark. It turned out to be a really cool exhibit. We were met by a giant firefly. We also saw other glowing insects and sea life. Marina enjoyed a floor display that simulated glowing bacteria in the water. She loved how the lights followed her as she walked through.

After we finished going through the exhibit Marina was ready to go home. It had been a fun day learning about animals.