Hello! My name’s Sarah, and I’m thrilled to be blogging for Cincinnati Parent about my adventures in Cincinnati with my three kids. I hope to share with you guys some of my favorite kid-friendly spots – and I’m excited to visit some new places, too!
This week, I went to the Zoo with my kids – twice! On a beautiful day, there’s nothing better than a trip to the Zoo. Well, honestly, I’m there year-round with my crew. It’s really fun going on a sunny day in the winter when no one is there, and all the cold-weather animals are out. But I digress.
We have membership, and use it all.the.time. Sometimes, if the kids are acting up, I’ll throw them in the car for a 45 minute outing there – it always resets the mood. I love that my kids refer to the animals by name (Betsy the manatee is Mary’s favorite – and she also named her stuffed gorilla after Gladys, the baby gorilla!). A membership is by far the way to go if you have kids: a Gold pass gets you free admission, free parking and unlimited carousel and train rides – and let me tell you, that train works wonders for getting my older two to behave!
Today, we got to see some of the larger animals doing their thing: the Asian elephant was scratching his tusks outside, which Julian found humorous:
After a picnic lunch, we went to the playground at the Children’s Zoo. The kids played and played while I fed Harvey and relaxed for a few minutes..
If you download the Zoo’s app, you can find out when certain activities, such as interactive feedings, are. Today we got to the giraffes just before the 1:30 feeding, where you pay $3 and get a piece of lettuce to hand-feed them. We were watching the giraffes graze and wander about, and then the feeding began and they galloped over to the fence. It was pretty much like dinnertime at my house.
We were also fortunate enough to see the lion family today – the mom, dad and three new cubs. The parents were resting while the cubs played, and Julian pointed to them and said it was like our family. He and Mary spent the rest of the day calling each other Lion Julian and Lion Mary – and I was “Lion Mama.”
So, that’s our Zoo – it’s as much a part of my kids’ routine as the neighborhood park or our backyard, and I’m really grateful for that.