Columbus Zoo...

...we drove from our hotel to the Columbus Zoo...this is the entrance...

...the water tower...

...the gate...we had purchased a season pass because it was cheaper than paying the entry fee for 3 or 4 days...the family pass pretty much pays for itself in 2.5 visits...

...of course the first place our future marine biologist wanted to visit was the aquarium...there was a petting area...Scout really used to love these when he was little...

...on to the bigger tanks...

...and the manatees...

...then...also of course...the Reptile House was next...they have these motion sensing water squirters...that squirt you as you walk in...so nice of them...on our way out we found a path without the squirt feature...funny...

...you can pet a snake...if you want to...

...one of the really neat things about this zoo is how up close and personal you can get with the animals...we were there early and we got to sit right beside the glass with this sleepy leopard...

...the kangaroo area is a walkthrough...not a petting area...but you are still really close to the roos...

...time for lunch...we had an awesome veggie burger with a ton of fries...pretty reasonably priced for in-park fare...

...the penguins...I should mention that I'm shooting in manual mode...I need more practice (A LOT!) in manual mode and I thought the zoo with fairly stationary subjects would be a good place...so I apologize if some of the photos are over/underexposed...

...about the closest I ever want to be to a grizzly bear...

...Scout waiting patiently for a polar bear to jump into the water overhead...

...finally one does...it was so neat to see him from below...

...and to watch his antics from above was pretty cool too...

...I just loved the play of light in this habitat...

...a sleepy tiger...

...a graceful swan...

...and a timber wolf who apparently didn't want his picture taken...

...Our frog loving boy pointed out this tadpole on his way to becoming a frog...just in a pond along a path...

...just trying to focus on a flower...

...we rode this little train...again reminding me of riding the train with a much smaller Scout at the Columbia zoo...

...the aviaries were pretty places for photos too...

...Scout was my spotter...pointing out the different birds and looking them up on the chart...he didn't put any in his bird watching journal...as that's hardly fair...

...a cardinal for my sister...

...a bashful turtle...

...and again...the closest I ever want to be to a big ole Bison...even at Sully's Hill I've never been this close...

...I just love Koalas...don't you?...

...some pretty black swans...

...and a pretty flower...still trying hard with the manual settings...

...these guys are so much fun to watch...

...remember how close you can get to the animals...

...look how thoughtful she looks as she has a little tête-à-tête with Scout...

...another aviary...

...still fiddling with the manual settings...this bird is so perfectly camouflaged...he's almost hard to see...

...Scout loves feeding the birds nectar...

...so do I...this one pecked me too...I think he was pretty hungry...and their little feet are so cold...

...we set off on a boat ride through the jungle...and right through the Chimpanzee habitat...I wondered why they didn't get out...so I asked one of the keepers and he said that they don't like water...who knew...

...that's probably enough of the 800 or so pictures that I took at the zoo...but I'll be back tomorrow with more...