Wildlights Part II

During our November trip to see the Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo we were limited on time and only saw the west portion of the exhibit. Owen was not happy to have his visit cut short and we promised him that we would return again before the end of the exhibit. In the blink of an eye, Christmas was over and we only had a few days left to squeeze in the return visit. Although the weather was a bit colder than in November, it was nice to view the exhibit with some snow on the ground.

View of the lights around the frozen pond just inside of the zoo entrance.

Clara all bundled up.

Owen displaying his rapidly developing "funny guy" personality. It is more fun to make a funny face than to smile.

Clara giving Owen a dirty look for being silly in her photo op.

Finally, a normal smile from the boy!

Wildlights

On Thursday night, we visited the Columbus Zoo for their Wildlights members-only preview night. This event grows more popular every year and even the members only night was very crowded. Since it is impossible to see the entire Zoo in one visit with a 3.5 year old and an 18 month old, we will visit several times to see all of the lights. By the time we ate some dinner and Owen finished the second of his trips to the potty, we had just enough time to ride the carousel and look at the lights on our way back to the exit.

Even with image stabilization, it is difficult to capture a photo that is not blurred without a monopod or other stable surface.

Bundled Clara unhappy to be trapped in the stroller.

Tranquility

Owen has declared that we must see the fish during every visit to the Columbus Zoo. He would stand at the glass watching the fish for hours if we would let him. Even when the zoo is busy, the aquarium offers a peaceful place to rest for a few minutes and cool down (summer visits) or warm up (fall/winter visits). Therefore, Ellen and I are generally happy to oblige Owen's request.

Since we live reasonably close to the zoo and have a membership, we visit the zoo several times each year and try to limit each visit to less than four hours. As such, we visit only a portion of the zoo and the aquarium during each visit. Fortunately, the aquarium is generally in the middle of the zoo, so we do not have to trek to the far reaches of the zoo to see the fish.