Boo at the Zoo

Today Mom, Missy, and Hannah met me at the Columbus zoo to check off one of our summer "meant-to-but-never did" events. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was voted the #1 zoo in America by USA Travel Guide, and I really like the layout. The Cleveland Zoo has some huge hills to ascend, and it's in a rather rundown part of town. The other nice feature for the Columbus Zoo is that it's about halfway between here and home. It was a chilly day - about 52 degrees - but that meant we were able to get great views because of the cooler weather (both because the animals were out and fewer of the human species were vying for viewing spots next to the glass). There are several animal statues throughout the zoo, and Hannah was motivated to get her picture with as many of them as possible. There were also candy stations scattered throughout the park, and Hannah enjoyed getting some treats on top of the animal encounters. A baby elephant was born there in March of 2009, so Beco was in the indoor pen for visitors to see. He already weighs 800 pounds and gains 20 pounds a week - crazy! My camera needed some charged batteries, so I didn't get as many shots as I normally would, but here are some highlights from the day:

How can you not find this face adorable?!

This was a really cool moment during the day; he (or she) just stared at us peacefully. A great moment for a nice picture!

Again, this lion was very cooperative with getting pictures taken!

These turtles managed to walk around like this - it was pretty neat!

On the other hand, this was creepy! This is an alligator snapping turtle, and he was just sitting like this waiting for something to swim by for him to snatch up!

What's wrong with this picture?

Do you see that sign in the background?

Maybe my sister is more intent on getting me married off than I knew...

This grizzly was HUGE! This picture does not do him justice!

I wouldn't be a Buckeye if I didn't take the chance to make my opinions known. :)

I liked this one - really peaceful.

And this has become one of my favorite pictures of them ever.