Postcard from Staycation: The Zoo

Joe was able to take this past week off of work so we decided to do a staycation in beautiful Cleveland, OH. Our plan was to go and do some fun things close to home and enjoy some family time, which has been awesome!

We decided that a great way to spend one day would be to take Connor for his first trip to the Cleveland Zoo. He was excited! The boy was blessed (cursed?) with his daddy's pale skin, so we lathered him up with sunscreen and off we went.

Ready for the zoo!

 

It was a beautiful day and we decided to try to see as much as we could and leave when we felt like Connor had had enough. So we packed a nice picnic lunch and headed out. Connor did AWESOME! He was great riding in his stroller and enjoyed animal (and people) watching with us.

Strolling through the zoo

We were excited to see the new baby rhino at the zoo and were able to get some good views and pictures of him (her?). Connor, being a baby, was especially excited to see baby animals.

Joe and Elle with baby Connor and baby rhino

We were also able to check out the new elephant exhibit (well, new since we've last been to the zoo, which was, by the way, one of our early dates back in 2006, so its been awhile).

Joe and Connor with the elephants

We stopped for lunch under a covered pavilion and no sooner had we sat down then it started downpouring! We ate lunch (sandwiches for the parents and bottles for Connor) and by the time we were done the sun was back out and we were off to see more animals (perfect timing!). He looks furious here, but I swear he enjoyed lunch!

Lunching while it rains

We switched Connor to the ergo because he as getting a little tired of sitting in his stroller. He had a better view this way.

Connor chilling in the ergo

We stopped by to see one of my favorite animals, the polar bears, who must have been hot in the Cleveland summer sun. Joe assured me that zoologists who were more knowledgeable than me had thought things through and the polar bears were cool as cucumbers polar bears. Don't worry furry friends, the dreaded Cleveland winters are (unfortunately) on their way.

By this time, Connor was starting to get tired and fell asleep in the ergo. Animal watching is hard work!

Exhausted from all of the zoo fun

 

Tired boy

Overall, the zoo was a success! We are looking forward to going back soon. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, although I think the excitement of the day caught up with Connor who was too tired for even his favorite activity.

Poor guy fell asleep in the door jumper

Zoo for the win!

 

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