Tag Archives: cleveland

Jul15

The Lion King At Playhouse Square Review

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The Lion King At Playhouse Square Review

Hello! This past Sunday Johnny and I had an absolutely fabulous time going to see The Lion King with my entire family at Playhouse Square. It was freaking amazing! When I was about five years old, my family vacationed in Toronto and we saw The Lion King on our trip. I don’t remember much from it but I remember being so wowed by all of the costumes and that sentiment amplified as soon as all of the actors took the stage this weekend. It was awe inspiring to see giraffes, elephants, gazelles, and of course lions right before our very eyes! Whether you are young or old, if The Lion King is coming to your neck of the woods then it is a must see. You are going to love it!

The Lion King opened on the strongest note with “Circle Of Life” and within that first second, we were fully in and delighted in the magic of the theater that followed. The puppeteers, the costuming that transformed actors to animals, and the singing, dancing, and acrobatics made for the most spectacular show that blew the cartoon out of the water. It was such an immersive performance that it really felt like we were all on Pride Rock watching the scenes of betrayal and redemption along with the rest of the cast. From the small practical touches to the big blow out scenes, this viewing of The Lion King can only be described as triumphant.

My favorite songs of the performance have got to be Scar’s “Be Prepared” and the sentimental ensemble song of “They Live In You”. The piece de resistance song and scene, however, was when Simba looked to the stars for guidance in “Endless Night”. As he stargazed, the cast somehow assembled the image of Mufasa into the night sky and it was nothing short of glorious for Simba to see his father once more and know what needs to be done next: Take his rightful throne. Another major scene, the stampede was also particularly effective as it literally looked like hundreds of animals running towards Simba on a relatively small stage. There was dusty smoke billowing, the rumble of hooves, and the dread of the knowledge that something really bad is about to happen.

While The Lion King shined in its full scale production numbers, there were so many little moments that added to the sense of wonder. The ingenious costumes worn by the lionesses created the sleek curves of the animal as they danced. During water scenes, fish were projected onto the billowing cloths that formed the rivers. There were cast members twirling bird puppets on poles throughout the audience. Or, my personal favorite: When young Simba sang “Hakuna Matata” with his newfound friends, Timon and Pumbaa. To transition into adult form, young Simba swung off of the stage on a vine. One second later, adult Simba swung in to join the show. Every effect was so clever and intentional and it translated to every seat in the theater!

I am so thankful for this super special viewing of The Lion King with my whole family in tow. It was simply phenomenal and, without a doubt, a theater bucket list performance!

Have you seen a play or musical recently? How was it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun5

Great Lakes Science Center Titanic Exhibit

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Great Lakes Science Center Titanic Exhibit

Hi! I recently visited the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland with a friend to see their newly installed Titanic exhibit. I don’t know much about the Titanic and I have never seen the movie but my friend is most fascinated by it and I was more than happy to tag along. We spent a solid hour and a half making our way through the exhibit and I really enjoyed myself and learned a lot. It was set up beautifully with replicas of different rooms, artifacts recovered from the sea floor, and an actual iceberg which really blew my mind! Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss further:

After paying for tickets for the exhibit, we were given a boarding pass of one of the passengers of the Titanic to hang onto until the end. Then, we could see if our passenger survived or not and gained insight into their outcome. With boarding passes in hand, we explored the exhibit with a fine toothed comb and it was wonderful. My favorite part was definitely seeing the restored artifacts that were recovered as the displays featured a picture of when they were found on the sea floor. The before and after was nuts! A particularly interesting display had au gratin dishes that were found in perfect rows. They were stored away in a box that disintegrated and they were still lined up as they were left. I also was drawn to the different clothing and accessories that were found but it was so sad to think of the people who were meant to wear them.

As well as artifacts, there were also room replicas including the boiler room, first class cabins, and the bunking rooms. A fun fact I learned was that a first class ticket on the Titanic would have been equivalent to over one hundred thousand dollars today! As we went about the space, there were direct quotes from passengers and employees and their portraits along the walls. The quotes recorded from when the ship was sinking was harrowing and reminded me a lot of the last messages that people sent during 9/11. I could tell how lovingly those displays were made and it was inspiring to read about their bravery.

The piece de resistance of the Titanic exhibit was twofold. There was the iceberg, of course, which I’m not quite sure how that worked out and neither did the employee that I asked. It had something to do with a cooling plate and gathering moisture in the air? From what the employee said, the iceberg has actually grown since the exhibit opened in late May. There was also a display of part of the ship that was recovered that we were allowed to touch and that was way, way cool. It’s not every day that you get to touch a literal piece of history!

If you are in the Cleveland area or traveling nearby, I can’t recommend this exhibit enough. Even if you haven’t seen the movie like me, you are still going to be in for a treat!

Do you know a lot about the Titanic? What is a classic movie that you haven’t seen? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May14

Wedding Fun

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Wedding Fun

Hello! This past weekend was absolutely fabulous because we got to celebrate my beautiful baby cousin, Anna’s, wedding! The day was filled with love, fashion, and oh so much fun. Anna’s wedding was held at the most stunning church – the Shrine Church of Saint Stanislaus in Cleveland and the ceremony was lovely. It has been a long time since I was in a church and I’m pleased to report that this ol’ atheist barely even sizzled! After the wedding, we checked into the Hotel Indigo for a breather before heading to the Garden Green to party hardy for the reception. It was a nonstop day but it was totally and completely perfect. Check out some pics from the festivities and be sure to tune in tomorrow for a closer look at my wedding ceremony OOTD!

Anna’s wedding reception began with an ultra cool cocktail hour in the basement of the Garden Green. Gin gimlets, champagne, and appetizers flowed while we got to catch up with all of my cousins and their partners. Anna has four other siblings and we actually just celebrated her older brother’s wedding in New Orleans in March. Love has definitely been in the air! After the cocktail hour, we returned to the main floor for speeches and dinner. While we ate, drank, and were merry the dance floor was prepped for an evening of shaking what our mamas gave us and did we ever. 😀

Once dinner was over, us gals made a trip to the bathroom before hitting the dance floor and were greeted by all of the ladies in front of the mirror applying gemstones and glitter. Anna had thoughtfully set out an array of sticky gems and tubes of shimmer for everyone to get creative with. As the word spread, guys and gals alike visited the loo to get their shine on and it was such a blast primping everyone. My sister did the cutest gem and shimmer set for my mom, Anna’s dad had a tasteful few gems by his eyes, and I got to go all out for my aunt who told me to just go crazy! By the time we exited the bathroom, we were all glowing and it looked so divine under the purple dance floor lights. Major kudos to Anna because this was such a delightful, interactive idea that we all had a blast with.

Post bathroom party, my dad picked my mom up to go home from Cleveland while Johnny, my sister, brother in law, and I cut a rug all together. We were dancing our fannies off and didn’t exit the dance floor until it was time to head back to the hotel or attend the after party. Trust and believe we chose to Uber back to the Hotel Indigo and hit the hay because holy WOW were we tired. Big ups to the after party crew for really rallying because I think I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. A small price to pay for the most wonderful day with my family! ❤

Johnny and I simply come alive at a wedding and we are beyond ecstatic for Anna and her main squeeze. There is one person left in my cousin crew to get married and I think we are all ready for another party ASAP! 🙂

Are you attending any weddings this year? Do you have any special occasions coming up? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar4

Cleveland Monsters Game

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Cleveland Monsters Game

Hi!! I don’t know about all of you, but Johnny and I had a fantastic weekend! On Friday we had our nieces over for a slumber party and on Saturday we discovered our new favorite thing: Hockey. We had the absolute best time going to the Rocket Arena to see Cleveland’s minor league team, the Monsters, playing against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. My brother, Andrew, was going with a couple of his friends and we were delighted when the offer was put on the table for us to tag along. Andrew is a HUGE sports fan and we love attending minor league baseball games together. The Monsters game was the same vibes but on ice and I have a feeling this will be the first of many Monsters games in our books!

After arriving in downtown Cleveland we made the short trek to the Rocket Arena for a four o’clock hockey jamboree. We loaded up on snacks and drinks and made it to our seats just in time for whatever it’s called when a hockey game starts. The puck off, perhaps? Lol. Just like that, the game was SO on and it was nonstop fun for the next two plus hours. Andrew and I were the odd ones out cheering for the Penguins but we rep Pittsburgh pride and refused to budge for the Cleveland Monsters. Even if they did end up winning the game two to one! For the entire game we were cheering, heckling, and reveling in the FIVE fights that broke out during the game. It was fast paced, action packed, and there was no telling what craziness was going to happen next!

Just like the minor league baseball games we go to, minor league hockey featured so much more than just a sports game. During pauses there were contests with audience participation like stacking Oreos with hockey gloves on and musical chairs. There were breaks to dance and get rowdy, a drum performance, and a dance team that put on a show too. It was a full on spectacle and if every sport had games like this, I think we would actually find a way to learn the rules of football lol. We might not know the ins and outs of hockey but we definitely know a good time when we see it. 😀

Of course, everything that transpired on the rink was exciting but the atmosphere at the arena made it so much better. There is nothing like being in a big crowd where everyone is just enjoying themselves whether that be with clapping and whooping or heckling! We had a great view of the rink and I truly think we got the best seats in the house. A group of guys a few rows behind us spent the entire game heckling with the most hilarious sentiments we have ever heard. In the midst of all of the cheers, these guys would follow up with “Rip his ankle off!” or “We’re so disappointed in you!”. I’ll tell you what, we were all on pins and needles to hear what they were going to say next!! Hockey freaking RULES.

My only regret about the Cleveland Monsters game is that we haven’t attended one sooner. It’s better late than never, though, because I am already dying to go back for more!

Do you like going to hockey games? Does your city have a minor league hockey team? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan23

Stereophonic At Playhouse Square

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Stereophonic At Playhouse Square

Hello! This past Saturday Johnny and I had a hilarious little adventure “seeing” Stereophonic at Playhouse Square. We got dolled up (Peep my OOTD soon!), had a delicious lunch at El Meson, and headed to Cleveland for a matinee showing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Stereophonic, it is loosely based on Fleetwood Mac’s recording process for their album, Rumours. Johnny and I thought we definitely could get down with that. Unfortunately, we definitely could not lol. Let’s discuss:

Whenever I attend a show at Playhouse Square, I expect excellence. My main squeeze and I have been lucky enough to go to so many wonderful performances there and it’s extremely rare for us to not enjoy ourselves. I guess there is a first time for everything (Minus a silly blip when we saw Les Mis and left) because, pardon my French, but Stereophonic sucked ass. In fact, I was so immediately not into it that I almost whispered to Johnny that we should leave five seconds in. If you are interested in Stereophonic from the music perspective, just know that that’s not what you’re going to get. Rather, you are in for a whole lot of meaningless chatter.

I would say that Johnny and I got about twenty-five minutes into Stereophonic before I pulled the plug and we hightailed it. In that time, all we saw was a bunch of people talking over themselves, getting drugged and boozed up, and having conversations that meant nothing to the task at hand. That being, recording an album. It was very difficult to even know who was speaking as the characters were spread out between the studio and the lounge area. The audio was very disjointed and even if we cared to follow along with the dialogue, it felt like it was just voices in the air rather than seeing the cast speak. If that makes sense?

All Johnny and I wanted was to hear a song and leave. Roughly twenty minutes in, the drummer laid down a killer beat and we were like okay, let’s go. Then, he stopped and the incessant chit chat commenced once more. Five minutes later, we were literally like okay, let’s go and left lol. From my understanding, a hefty portion of the audience dipped out at intermission and I applaud them for holding out that long. They have far more strength and mental fortitude than Johnny and I could muster that afternoon.

When we returned home, plenty of ads for Stereophonic were on my Facebook and I took the time to read some of the comments left for Playhouse Square. I would say about seventy percent of them were in the negative with complaints that included: Too much talking, too slow a pace, not enough music, and the final nail in the coffin – that they just didn’t care. On the positive end of comments, others were saying that it was like being a fly on the wall to watch the creative process. These comments begged the question – Were we even watching the same show? From start to twenty-five minutes later, Stereophonic was exhausting and I cannot speak about it poorly enough!

If you are expecting a rocking Fleetwood Mac-esque musical with Stereophonic, do not and I repeat: DO NOT bother. This was easily the worst production I have seen in my extensive span of Playhouse Square shows. Very disappointing!

What are your thoughts on Stereophonic? Are you seeing anything at the theater soon? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep16

Cleveland Zoo Asian Lantern Festival

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Cleveland Zoo Asian Lantern Festival

Hello! Every summer the Cleveland and Columbus Zoo host the most wonderful Asian Lantern Festivals. It is a spectacular event that features light up and motorized displays, traditional music, and amazing performances. During a recent trip to the Cleveland Zoo, I was able to see a lot of the different displays but it was during the day time and when the sun goes down is when the magic happens. This past week, I was lucky enough to go to the drive through Lantern Festival with my beloved downstairs neighbor. It was the very last night to be able to do so and we had an absolutely fabulous time. The day turned to night as soon as we arrived at the zoo and we got to experience this stunning feat of artistry before our very eyes. Check it out and be sure to keep peeping my TikTok for a video tour soon!

^^^ How cool is that?!?!

This was my first drive through Asian Lantern Festival and I am so appreciative to the Cleveland Zoo for making this event accessible to everyone. As my neighbor does not get around the best, this was the way to go and I feel so happy that I got to be with him for his very first time seeing the big show. He booked us an eight PM time slot and our almost hour drive to Cleveland was spent chattering away about how excited we were. And, minus a few hiccups, we were downright giddy by the time we got to zoo.

We both kind of expected to be able to get right into the zoo upon our arrival and that was SO not the case lol. Traffic was completely flooded with festival goers and it took us a solid forty minutes to reach the zoo’s entrance. Then, it was at least another fifteen for the bottleneck we found ourselves in to break up so we could proceed with the tour. Note to self: It is NOT a good idea to drink an entire bottle of water during the drive to the zoo. I had to pee SO bad and bathroom breaks were not an option SMH. -_-

Blessedly, once we started being able to drive through the zoo at a steady clip my bathroom woes subsided because holy wow. It was even better than I could have imagined! During my last evening Asian Lantern Festival outing, it was still quite light out and we missed the majesty of the lights on a pitch black night. That is exactly how you should experience the fest because it literally felt like being thrown into a fairy tale. The lights, music, motion, and the cool breeze with the windows down was intoxicating. We could even see some of the animals in their exhibits when we reached traffic jams and that was an awesome bonus.

The displays at the festival included flowers, foliage, and regular zoo animals but also featured a heavy dose of the mythical. There were fairies and dragons as well as the creatures traditional to Asian legend. I loved the different fairies the best and also adored the undersea displays. The tunnel with the canopy of fish swimming in a swirling ocean was breathtaking. At my summer day trip to the Cleveland Zoo, I walked through that tunnel trying to visualize how it came to life at night. It was even more beautiful than my daydreams!

The Asian Lantern Festival has now drawn to a close at the Cleveland Zoo and all I can say is: Bring on the next one. The festival is completely different every year and I cannot wait to see how the zoo is transformed next!

What is your favorite yearly event in your neck of the woods? What is your favorite animal real or otherwise? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival

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Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival

Hello! A few weekends ago I went to the Columbus Zoo with my big bro and Johnny as an end of summer hurrah. We had the best time exploring the gorgeous park and made so many fantastic memories together. Not only did we see beaucoup animals but we were also treated to walking through the Lantern Festival. Every year, the Cleveland and Columbus Zoo creates a glorious display of different animals, mythical creatures, and flowers that all light up at night. While the Columbus Zoo beats out Akron and Cleveland as the best zoo by a long shot, I actually thought the Cleveland Zoo Lantern Fest was better. Check out some pics as well as an adorable shot of a Red Panda for good measure and let’s discuss:

The Columbus Zoo is a vast property and we easily walked over six miles during our visit. Due to its size, the exhibits at this zoo are absolutely gigantic and that is a great thing! However, it leaves little room for features like landscaping, pavilions to rest or have some lunch, and the Lantern Festival displays. In comparison, the Cleveland Zoo has many areas where exhibits aren’t possible and landscaping is the focal point. At the Cleveland Zoo, sprawling displays for the Lantern Fest were achieved simply because they could. Different displays seemed to stretch endlessly and it was marvelous to explore.

This is not to say that the Columbus Zoo Lantern Fest wasn’t good but it definitely didn’t live up to my expectations because it’s such a staple day trip in Ohio. Sans the stunning sea dragon that was the entire length of one of the ponds, all of the other displays were scattered and small as opposed to a full walk through experience. Of course, they made excellent use of the space they did have but it didn’t invoke the larger than life vibes of the displays at the Cleveland Zoo. It made me really thankful that I got to experience the wonders of the Cleveland Zoo Lantern Fest because it was like stepping into another world rather than an afterthought.

While the Columbus Zoo is the best one I have ever been to, it made me proud that little old Cleveland bested them at the Lantern Fest. Attending the nighttime walk through with my entire family, nieces and nephew included, is one of my favorite memories. It was like entering a fairy tale with the twinkling lights, displays that moved, and wonderful performances of music and acrobats. Hell yeah, Cleveland, because you did real good! 😀

Although the Lantern Fest at the Columbus Zoo wasn’t anything to write home about, it was still a fabulous day and one of my favorite summer outings!

Does your zoo host a lantern festival? What is your favorite zoo? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug14

The Struts Concert

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The Struts Concert

Hello! This past Tuesday I got to recelebrate my birthday with Johnny’s gift – seeing Dirty Honey and The Struts at the House Of Blues! As soon as I saw that The Struts were coming our way for their tenth anniversary tour of their debut album, Everybody Wants, I told Johnny that was the gift for me and he delivered! We had the absolute best time rocking out and dancing the night away to one of our favorite bands and new favorite too. Dirty Honey freaking ruled! Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss:

After a fantastic dinner at Barrio for the most delicious tacos ever, Johnny and I headed to the House Of Blues which is my all time favorite venue. It’s rather small and provides ample opportunity to get up close and personal at the stage and it is just so freaking cool! After paying an arm and a leg for insanely overpriced drinks, we were able to squeeze our way through to the front of the right stage wing and had a phenomenal view of the bands. This was super lucky because by the time we got to the venue after dinner it was jam packed with fans!

Rather than listen to Dirty Honey prior to the concert, we decided the first time we hear them should be live and that was an excellent decision. They were So. So. SO. Good!! Dirty Honey was serving MAJOR Led Zeppelin vibes but they did it in their own way. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Greta Van Fleet but let’s be real – they could simply be a Led Zeppelin cover band. Dirty Honey just oozed pure rock n’ roll sex appeal in a way that felt so vintage but fresh and new. We’re talking killer riffs, thumping bass, and the voice of Marc Labelle that would make Robert Plant oh so proud. From gravel lows to the highest of highs, his voice was carved by the rock gods and Johnny and I were mesmerized. If they come to your neck of the woods, I cannot recommend checking them out enough and you can thank me later. 🙂

Very shortly after Dirty Honey completed their set, the night kept on rocking with The Struts. It was very exciting when they took the stage because I have a big fat crush on Luke Spiller and it’s wild to see your celebrity crushes IRL. I just love his fashion and voice and he really is a pint sized power house! Taking a trip down memory lane with The Struts as they revisited their debut album was such a treat because it’s just banger after banger. We’re talking “It Could Have Been Me”, “Kiss This”, “Put Your Money On Me”, “She Makes Me Feel”, and “Where Did She Go” – just to name a few. It was amazing to hear It Could Have Been Me live because that will always be my favorite as it was the first song by The Struts Johnny ever played for me. ❤

The band’s energy from start to finish was captivating and it was impossible to not dance your ass off and sing your heart out. Spiller was flitting about the stage at rapid speed giving ALL of the drunk aunt feels and I was living for it. It’s always interesting to see how a band compares live to their albums and I think The Struts sounded even better live. It was so real and hearing the songs not sound as studio album perfect only enhanced the glam rock party atmosphere of their music. This concert really was a party and it wasn’t over until The Struts said so. We were gifted with a four song encore including their rendition of “We Will Rock You”, “Body Talks”, “Pretty Vicious”, and “One Night Only” to wrap the show in the most wonderful bow. 20/10 one of the best nights ever!

The Struts have been on my concert bucket list for a good long while and everything about the night exceeded my expectations. Shout out to my main squeeze for such a perfect gift! ❤

Have you seen The Struts or Dirty Honey before? What did you think of their performance? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul22

Summer To Do List

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Summer To Do List

Hello! I would not call myself a summer gal in the slightest but I have been having a lot of fun in the sun this season and I am beginning to see its merits lol. Days at the park with my nieces, baseball games, mine and Johnny’s little getaway, and a trip to the Cleveland Zoo have definitely inspired me to live it up. Summer is not even close to being done yet and there is still so much that I would like to do before the best season, fall, falls upon us! For that reason, I created a To Do List of the outings that are a must for me to continue making this summer one of the best ones yet:

Cleveland Museum Of Illusions:

Something that I have wanted to do for a long time is visit the Cleveland Museum Of Illusions. It is fairly new to the area and my Facebook has been bombarded with ads for it. Hey, it worked because they are extremely enticing! This museum is fully interactive and creates amazing optical illusion photo ops for yourself and friends. Yes, I may or may not be most encouraged by the photo ops but I am a content creator after all! From vortex tunnels, reverse rooms, tilted rooms, Beuchut chairs, and even a head on a platter illusion – this place has got it all. I cannot WAIT to explore it!

Columbus Zoo:

It was a wonderful treat to see the setup for the incredible Asian Lantern Festival during my last trip to the Cleveland Zoo. It is such a beautiful park but the piece de resistance in my general neck of the woods has got to be the Columbus Zoo. I have only been one time over a decade ago and it was amazing from start to finish. The park was huge, they had countless animals you couldn’t see in Cleveland or Akron, and a lot of ways to interact with animals through feeding times or hopping on the back of a camel! I have wanted to take the trip to Columbus for a while and that urge only grew greater from, you guessed it, Facebook ads lol. The Columbus Zoo also hosts an Asian Lantern Festival and from what I’ve seen while scrolling through The Book, it is the Cleveland Festival on steroids. It will certainly make for a fantastic day trip!

Glass Blowing:

Facebook ads, you have done it again lol. I have been aware of Akron Glass Works for a while and have always fancied taking a workshop there for a totally unique craft to display. I really do think phones read your mind because one of the ads on my newsfeed was for Akron Glass Works’ fall pumpkin workshop. It is their most popular class and for good reason – the end result looks absolutely fabulous! During a field trip in grade school to an interactive historic village, they had a glass blowing setup and my mind was simply blown by it. Young and old Sarah are going to be most excited to finally give it a go. 😀

For my Summer To Do List, I wanted to find activities that are fully possible to go to as well as relatively cost effective. If I can do these three things before summer is out, I will be a very happy Lil Red indeed!

What is on your summer to do list? What has been the best part of your summer so far? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul20

Cleveland Zoo Adventure

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Cleveland Zoo Adventure

Howdy! This past week, I enjoyed a wonderful day trip to the Cleveland Zoo and had a ball. Not only were a lot of the animals very active, but the whole zoo was decorated for their spectacular Asian Lantern Festival. After talking about it for years, my family finally went last year and it was awe inspiring. I assumed that a lot of the decorations and displays would be reused and I was dead wrong. Everything about this Festival was different and it is so cool to me that you will never experience the same Asian Lantern Festival twice! Take a look at some pics and be sure to follow me on TikTok for videos from this adventure:

^^^ Look at that lil face! ❤

The Cleveland Zoo is an amazing staple in my neck of the woods and is a joy to visit. It’s a sprawling, beautiful park that boasts six different areas and a seventh soon when their rain forest is done being remodeled. There is the African Savanna, Wilderness Trek, Australian Adventure, African Elephant Crossing, Waterfowl Lake, and a section of Primates, Cats, and Aquatics. Every exhibit is a sight to see and there were plenty that I simply couldn’t tear myself away from!

While the entire Cleveland Zoo outing was fabulous fun, there were some definite highlights. My top favorite has got to be in the Australian Adventure at the Kangaroo exhibit. I was able to see a tiny baby Joey outside of its mom’s pouch and that was something I had never seen before. I joked that I didn’t realize they had legs because you usually only see the top half of them lol! It was SO incredibly cute and I could have watched the mama/Joey duo all day. Speaking of babies, the Koala at the zoo recently had a little one and you could just make it out while they relaxed in their tree. The Australian Adventure was bursting with new babies and that was really cool to see.

Bear Hollow was also an exciting place to visit as the bears were all up and moving. We saw them snacking, one climbed to a high up net in the exhibit and was hanging out there, and the Grizzly Bears were play fighting in the water. One of them totally bitch slapped the other! And, last but not least, I absolutely adored being able to feed the giraffes some romaine lettuce (Just like my bunnies!). So much so, that I did it twice! Hey, when at the Cleveland Zoo amiright? 😀

Sans the decor of the Asian Lantern Festival, the Cleveland Zoo is a very scenic park. However, it transforms into somewhere magical when the Festival is in full swing. The decorations were astounding and it felt like walking in a fairy tale. I was mesmerized by the colors, the artistry, and the enormity of each and every display and felt so lucky that I could see a second Festival as I now know that it’s totally different each year. If you thought the pictures alone were jaw dropping, just wait for when you see the displays at nighttime. They light up and a lot of them have motions too. It is an absolute MUST if you find yourselves in good ol’ Cleveland, Ohio during the summer!

From start to finish, my day at the Cleveland Zoo was the best. I cannot wait to see their remodeled rain forest because construction was underway and it is HUGE!!

What is your favorite zoo to visit? What’s your favorite animal? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah