Family Vacation to Ohio - Part II

On Wednesday morning we went to the Pro-Am Memorial Golf Tournament as part of their Military Appreciation Day and watched some of the best golfers in the world up close. 

It was another hot and humid day and the children were quite exhausted from the day at the zoo and didn't like all that walking very much. Luckily, we found some shade to watch some players. 

The miniature fighter plane was also a hit for the kids. 

In the evening, they hosted a Junior Golf Clinic and while we ran late due to the rain and rush hour traffic and missed Jack Hanna and some of his fury animal friends,  the children learned from a couple of Pro golfers how to hold a golf club properly. And they met the Zoo mascot and came close to the Memorial Golf Tournament trophy. 

After breakfast on Thursday morning and with more rain on the horizon, we decided to spend the day at Cosi, a science center for children. This museum was all hands-on and so much fun for young and old. STEM activities are so important for young minds and this center had lots of interesting activities. How old is this tree? (832 rings= 832 years)

Underwater exploration:

Throughout the day, the museum has different shows and we loved watching and participating in the one about electric shock. Elliot was brave enough to be shocked while Amelia's hair got spiked. 

The whole family enjoyed the Gadget cafe, where we could choose different experiments to try from a menu. Shinning pennies, creating baking soda bubbles and making Flubber was a huge hit. 

Elliot trying the "human noise" piano, which made burping, farting, and other disgusting sounds. Obviously, my boy loved it. 

Velvet Hands:

The Kids' Zone, complete with a water table, climbing wall and arts-and craft center was a definite favorite for both children. 

Elliot's favorite part of the museum was for sure the Dinosaur Gallery from the American Museum of National History. He was able to get up close to spectacular displays of dinosaur casts and some impressive pre-historic monsters. 

Elliot next to T. Rex's Thigh Bone

The science center also featured a space exhibit, which was Derrick's favorite part:

I tried the Wire Unicycle, which is located 17 feet above the ground and quite intimidating for the first few feet.

After 6 hours at the museum it was time to head back to the hotel. There was still much more to explore but that we will do on our next visit to Ohio. We finished the day with another ice-cream cone from Graeter's and a good night's rest. On our way home from Columbus, we stopped in Cincinnati to see our dear friends. Of course, the couple of hours we spent together were much too short but o' so good for the soul. 

It felt good to be back home and our cat and the fish were happy to have us back as well. We will finish the weekend by playing, resting and catching up on some yard work before the children start of their summer camp session tomorrow. 

Family Vacation to Ohio - Part I

On Memorial Day we all drove up to Columbus, OH, to spend the next few days exploring the city and to rest a bit after a busy school year. Pit stop to stretch our legs and blow some bubbles.

The first stop in town was a visit to Germantown. While many stores and restaurants were closed for the holiday, we walked around the area to take in the European style houses from the 1800s and then found the best bookstore. It had a quaint little garden out front and an amazingly large selection of books. I could have spend the next few days there.  

The next morning, we headed to the Columbus Zoo, which is one of the best in the country and home to more than 7,000 animals on over 580 acres. Despite the heat (92F/ 33 C and 92% humidity), we really enjoyed looking at all the animals and the great exhibitions. We ventured to the Heart of Africa exhibit first, which was modeled after an African village and one felt like looking out across a sweeping African savanna where zebras grazed, cranes danced and gazelles leaped.  

Elliot "crash landing" a plane:

Up close with a long-time favorite animal of hers:

The children wanted to ride a camel and since Elliot was still too young to ride alone, I jumped on as well. The way these animals walk is so different from a horse's gait and one could easily fall off if it wouldn't be for the seat.

Next, we walked over to North America, where Amelia met her namesake and these two had a few precious moments with each other. These are my favorite pictures of the day.

This polar bear was only 2 years old and looked already very powerful but yet so agile in the water.

 The neighbor, Mr. brown bear, was just sleeping the day away.

To cool off from the heat, we stopped by the aquarium for a bit, where a diver fed the fish.

Lettuce was on the menu for the manatees:

After lunch, we visited the reptile house, where the children were able to pet a rainbow boa.

Nice and silly:

At the Australia exhibit, we fed the Lorikeet:

 We headed back to the aquarium to pet a star fish and then played some catch with the penguins.

Elliot found his favorite shark: a hammerhead.

The children were lucky to cool off in the splash zone before we went to visit the aviary,  the koalas and the kangaroos. We ended the day with a stop at the petting zoo.

Even though we were at the zoo for over 5 hours, we were not able to see all of it. It was just too hot to continue on and most of the animals also preferred to take a long afternoon nap. For sure we will be back sooner than later as we really enjoyed this zoo and maybe next time, we even try out the some rides and/ or adjacent  water park. 

Off to the hotel for a swim in the pool and then after dinner, we all enjoyed ice cream at Graeters.

A post with part II of our vacation will follow next, so stay tuned.