Category: 2023 Arkzooforce

Left home on time at 7:30am. Stopped for coffee in Comber, ON at 9:30am.

Crossed border into Detroit, very little wait around 10:38am. Arrived at Packo’s in Toledo, OH at 11:40am

I can now add another state to my states visited list. Earlier this year I added Maryland and today I get to add Indiana. We made a short detour on our way to Kentucky just to pass through Indiana.

Skipped the front desk. We went directly to our room and used our phones to open our room door. Pretty nice

We had to stay on the path and not touch the kangaroos unless they approached us. But we got pretty close!

The kids loved riding the carousel before we left the Ark Encounter!

It was an interesting experience. You pay before you go in. Then you sit wherever you want. Grab a disposable plate and head up to the buffets. You also get your own drinks. Absolutely no wait-staff. Food was OK and the price wasn’t too bad especially when compared with the Ark Encounter base admission price.

We watched an interesting and informative show about predators and prey. There was a porcupine, a tortoise, a tegu lizard, and a snake. It was neat to hear the keeper tell us animal facts in a biblical context.

I guess running around in 35C weather will make you a little sleepy.

We assumed she would be crying outside the door but no, she was busy down the hall looking through the window.

We bought the rides package which allowed us to enter the zoo early before it opened at 10am, and gave us unlimited rides on the train and carousel.

I loved watching the manatees AKA “sea cows” swim and eat their lettuce. They’re so adorable. A zoo guide chatted with our kids about them and let them touch a bone from a manatee skeleton.

Fiona is a famous hippo who was born prematurely but survived. The library has books about her. We got to see her cuddling with the other hippos. Another adorable underwater giant!

The older three kids and I rode the carousel over and over while Poppy napped in her stroller. It was by far their favourite zoo attraction.

This photo doesn’t capture how big these really are and how slowly they walk, but it was neat to see! Especially since we just learned about them last year.

I regret not taking photos of the gardens at the Cincinnati Zoo. They were beautiful! My favourite was the butterfly garden with plants that attract pollinators.