Cleveland MetroParks Zoo

This squirrel was making such a racket with his nut. Plus, we haven't lived in places with gray squirrels for the past 4 years, so this guy was kind of a novelty to us. 

The zebra were supposed to be in this exhibit, but were inside instead. I took this picture instead.

This tiger was made entirely out of hay. It was so cool. 

The girls and I headed to my mom and dad's house a couple of weeks ago to spend a few days with them and my sister's family. I hadn't been back to Ohio in several months, and not knowing how long we will be this close to family before we are transferred again, wanted to take advantage of the close(ish) proximity while we can.

My sister and I decided to take her two youngest kids (her two oldest were in school) to the zoo with my girls. The girls and I haven't been to the Cleveland zoo in several years and were surprised to see that several exhibits have been beautifully upgraded. I have mixed feelings about zoos. I understand why people don't like them and feel they are cruel. I feel this way too sometimes. But more often than not my selfish pull to them wins me over and I end up visiting them anyway despite my misgivings.

One of the best things about homeschooling is that you often get a glimpse of places like the zoo in a way that most traditionally schooled children do not. The zoo, on the day we went, was quiet and there were very, very few people there. The kids all got to go as close up to each exhibit at they wanted to and we were almost always the only people looking at the animals. We could take our time and just be with each animal for as long as we wanted to without having to share the space with others. Sarah didn't have to deal with people not paying attention to where they are going or people pushing and shoving to get a glimpse at any one animal. She was able to roam freely which at places like the zoo during non-school hours/days is not always the case. It was a pretty peaceful day. It was a bit chilly and the girls and I got tired, so we didn't stay for too long, but I would definitely go back. I would love to spend several more hours there than we did that day. Even Sarah, who loathes zoos, said that she had fun.

I didn't take too many pictures. I was too busy looking at the animals myself and kept forgetting to take their picture. But it was a fun time and something we will definitely do again.