Tag Archives: day trip

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

Sep14

The Bomb Shelter Shopping Trip

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The Bomb Shelter Shopping Trip

Hello! There is a super cool vintage store in Akron called The Bomb Shelter that Johnny and I have always talked about visiting but never bothered doing so until this past weekend. We are going to see Weird Al today and wanted to find some Hawaiian shirts to wear to the show. Johnny suggested hitting up The Bomb Shelter to shop their selection and I am so glad he did so. This was my first trip there and it was absolutely amazing. If you love vintage shopping and ever find yourself in the greater Akron area, this is a total and complete must. While we didn’t have any luck finding Hawaiian shirts, we sure had a good time browsing the massive property. Check it out:

^^^ The Bomb Shelter’s mascot lol

Walking into The Bomb Shelter was like stepping into a time machine and it was as wonderful as it was overwhelming. Every single area in the expansive warehouse was covered with vintage goods from floor to ceiling and I mean that quite literally. They had chairs, doilies, and pieces of art hanging from the ceiling! Each shelf and tabletop was home to wonders of yesteryear and you honestly would need a full few hours to really look through The Bomb Shelter and see anything and everything it has to offer. Johnny and I spent at least two hours browsing easily. And also sitting because he insisted on trying out Every. Single. Piece. Of. Furniture. And there was a lot!!

For all of the millions of things in The Bomb Shelter, it was actually very well organized. Of course, I loved browsing through the clothes and jewelry as did Johnny. And don’t tempt him with a shelf full of records! As much as I enjoyed the clothing, my favorite parts were where the old appliances and kitchen sets were featured. You could literally make your home feel like the 1950s with a shopping trip to The Bomb Shelter and a lot of money! It was SO neat to see furnishings, place settings, and decor that reminded me of those that were in my grandparents’ homes. It was a beautiful touch of nostalgia to simply see a set of cups that were like ones my grandma used to have that sent so many happy memories of childhood rushing back.

From movie memorabilia and toys and games to old presidential buttons and photography equipment, there was something for every collector at The Bomb Shelter. They even had a DeLorean in the garage portion of the store as well as a Yugo which we wanted to bring home with us so badly! It would have been all too easy to spend my life savings while we went on our shopping trip but I think we exercised self control pretty well. We walked away with a couple of trinkets and gifts as well as some “new” vintage jewelry for me. Peep those later!!

We may not have found what we wanted at The Bomb Shelter but it showed us what we truly needed. I can’t wait to go back!

Do you have a store like The Bomb Shelter in your neck of the woods? What is your favorite era of home decor? 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

Aug30

Columbus Zoo Highlights

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Columbus Zoo Highlights

Howdy! I so enjoyed my trip to the Columbus Zoo with Johnny and my brother and it really was an adventure. The Columbus Zoo is freaking gigantic and we were exhausted by the time it was time to head home. Even more so because we may or may not have forgotten where we parked the car and wandered around the parking lot for a solid twenty minutes. But that’s neither here nor there lol. Everything at this zoo was beautiful and you could easily spend an entire day there and then some. While there was a new sight to see everywhere you looked, I had two major highlights of our outing: The aquarium and feeding the lorikeets! Check it out:

We have an aquarium in Cleveland and it actively sucks. It is expensive to get into, is about three rooms in total, and you could get through the entire property in a half an hour. Although the aquarium at the Columbus Zoo wasn’t a full fledged one like you might find in bigger cities, it might as well have been! The only thing I had to compare it to was the Cleveland one and the Columbus Zoo was infinitely better in every way. It was glorious and so relaxing! The air conditioning, the sound of water, and sights so wonderful it looked like you were watching a screensaver on the computer.

When you enter into the aquarium, you will find a touch tank for the kiddos and a few exhibits leading up to the piece de resistance. As you venture further, you are greeted by the huge tank that runs the length of the sizeable space from floor to ceiling. It was spectacular! We found several species of sharks, fish, and coral in the exhibit and myself and crew were amazed. To see the sharks gliding about, schools of fish traveling together, and a few cheeky fish playing hide and go seek in the coral was like having a view straight into the ocean. The tank was so big that we were seeing brand new things each time we stepped a few feet. Had this been our local zoo and not one two hours plus away, I think we would have sat on the movie theater style seats to kick back and enjoy the splendor. We had a lot of zoo to get through, though!

After we managed to peel ourselves away from the undersea show, we stepped into the next section for manatees, stingrays, and sea turtles. Once again, it was ginourmous and complete with mangrove trees! We arrived at the perfect time because it was snack time and all of us had to laugh. The sea creatures were snacking on hearts of romaine just like our bunnies! It was so funny to see the manatees swimming while munching away at the leafy greens that they held in their flippers. In fact, countless animals at the zoo were having a romaine treat and we would love to know what the zoo’s leafy green budget is. WAY more than the seven bucks Johnny and I spend every week and a half. 😀

My second favorite highlight at the Columbus Zoo took place in the Australia portion where there was an aviary that housed lorikeets, which are small rainbow colored birds. You could walk through the aviary or you could purchase some nectar to feed them. Of course, I had to give it a go and am glad that we only purchased one cup of nectar. There was plenty to go around for my brother and Johnny to feed them too. All of the lorikeets were perched on branches and eagerly waiting for their next nectar fix. It was SO cool to give them their treat and once you were feeding one, all of the rest wanted in too. There was a point when I had three lorikeets to my tiny cup of nectar! I very much wanted to feed the giraffes but we didn’t have the time to do so. I am really happy we took the time to feed the lorikeets because it was such an awesome experience!

If you are ever in the area, I can’t recommend a trip to the Columbus Zoo enough. You will absolutely love it and I wish we could go back this weekend!

Does your local zoo have any animal feeding experiences? What is your favorite sea creature? 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

Jul2

Memphis Kiddie Park Day Trip

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Memphis Kiddie Park Day Trip

Hello! I have been having so much summer fun last month and especially over this past weekend. My brother and his wife and son came to visit from Atlanta and we all had a blast hanging out. It was SO awesome for my niece and nephew to play together and they both solemnly announced that they would miss each other when it was time to go home. How sweet is that?!

Last Monday, we took the kiddos on a little day trip to Memphis Kiddie Park close to Cleveland and a delicious Mexican dinner afterwards. This was a very special outing, indeed, because my siblings and I used to go there all of the time when we were little. Whether we went with my parents or my grandma, it was always a huge treat to go to Kiddie Park and get ice cream after and I have so many fond memories of afternoons spent there.

When I was little, I remember thinking that Kiddie Park was a Cedar Point level amusement park. So, all of my siblings and I had a huge laugh when we saw through the eyes of an adult that it was the size of a large parking lot. It surely didn’t feel that way to my niece and nephew, though!

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^^^ The white Love On A Hanger top is one of my faves!

When we got to Kiddie Park my nephew, Patrick, was ready to ride all of the rides. My niece, Valerie, on the other hand… Not so much. Lol, it definitely took her a minute to get warmed up and, surprisingly, the only thing she wanted to ride at first was the Little Dipper rollarcoaster with me. Of course, I obliged and it made me think of all of the times that I would ride it with my grandma and we would go on it again, and again, and again. ❤

Val’s reaction to the Little Dipper was either going to be really good or really bad because she had never been on something like that before. Even more surprisingly, she loved it and after a juice box and a pretzel she was good to go. I guess she was just hangry and it was, honestly, such a mood!

After Val rallied, her and Patrick rode so many rides together and it was SO. Freaking. Cute. They loved the boats, spinning turtles, airplanes, and mini cars and it warmed my heart to see them waving to all of us and having a ball. Naturally, neither of them wanted to go home afterwards and, despite having no more ride tickets left, they were asking for “just one more ride”. ❤

Something tells me that we will be taking Val to Kiddie Park again this summer and I’m sure we will go all together with Patrick next summer too. It was just as fun for the kids as it was for the adults and it was the best day!

Do you have something similar to Kiddie Park in your neck of the woods? What is one of your fondest childhood memories? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun21

Cleveland Zoo Fun

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Cleveland Zoo Fun

Hello! Last week, I got to enjoy some time at the Cleveland Zoo and it was such a blast. This zoo offers at least five major exhibits including the Asian Highlands, Australian Outback, African Savannah, and so much more. There is also a separate building that mimics a tropical rain forest for you to explore. It’s so cool! Here are some of the pictures that I snapped throughout the day for your viewing pleasure:

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It is always so amazing to take a trip to the zoo, especially a big one like the Cleveland Zoo, so that you can see all of your favorite animals up close and personal. I am a lover of all creatures big and small, but when I am at the zoo, I am incredibly partial to the monkeys because they all have such distinct personalities. It was a hoot to see one of the monkeys passed out in a cat nap and the tiny black one licking his fingers after a yummy treat. But, the orangutans will always be my number one favorite.

Orangutans are such fascinating creatures to me, and I could seriously watch them all day. You can genuinely see such human like traits in their eyes like empathy and humor and I would give anything to be able to interact with them. The baby orangutan seen in the last two pictures above definitely stole the show, though. You could tell that he or she was having the time of its life just monkeying around and making us humans laugh. He was doing yoga-like poses, snuggling with his mom and dad, and playing dress up with the burlap sack. It doesn’t get much cuter than that!

What is your favorite animal to see at the zoo? Do you have a zoo that you like to frequent in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct6

Mission: Impossible (Friend To Buy A Gift For!)

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Mission: Impossible (Friend To Buy A Gift For!)

We all have that one person, whether it’s your best friend, a sibling, or significant other, there’s always someone who is just excruciatingly difficult to buy gifts for. With Christmas just around the corner, now comes a return of those anxieties, you want to be a good and thoughtful friend/family member/partner, but you have no idea where to begin. So what is the best way to buy a gift for someone who is impossible to buy for? Let’s try and think outside the (gift) box:

A Gift Card Or A Certificate:

This doesn’t exactly scream “well thought out”, but it’s a worthy compromise if you need to buy something for someone who has either got everything or they just haven’t given any hints. A gift card can seem like a cheap gift, especially since you have to tell them how much is on the card! In this respect, maybe you want to give them a gift card that is in conjunction with a few other gifts, such as a dinner out, movie tickets, or maybe a donation to charity, all wrapped up in a bright envelope.

mii

Who doesn’t love a gift card?!

Buy An Experience:

If you struggle to buy someone a physical gift, why don’t you buy them something that is going to stick in their mind for years to come? An experience is so much more than the typical presents that we buy for everyone. Maybe you want to plan a fun day trip or there’s a concert coming up by one of their favorite bands. At least with an experience, it shows that you put a lot of thought into what they like. And even if you haven’t had the opportunity to put much thought into it, the experience alone is so different from what they normally get as a present, that they will be totally psyched.

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 I want that trip!

Go For The Practical Option:

While this may not be the most earth-shattering of gifts, if you’ve noticed that their curling tongs have broken recently or their coffee machine is on the fritz, then you can buy them a new and improved model. It’s always difficult with these types of items to pick the best one, but there are sites that you can look at to get some reviews, such as top9rated.com, to get some opinions of the best items on the market. With a practical gift, it shows that you pay attention to them and have made a valiant effort to make life a bit easier for them.

Practical gifts also don’t need to be boring as there are so many different customizable options. You could have a T-shirt made with a picture of your giftee’s favorite band. How about a travel bag with their initials embroidered? If your giftee is your favorite person to go on a coffee date with, they will love this “I wish you lived next door” mug. Whatever you choose, the person receiving the gift will think about you every time they use it!

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 Pixabay Image

A Subscription Service:

We usually think of a gift as a one-off, but with a subscription service, you can pay for something that they will enjoy the whole year round. Something like netflix.com will always be handy if they travel around a lot and end up getting bored easily. Or maybe they are work out addicts, so you could pay their subscription to the gym for a year. It’s always a nice thing to buy a gift that is part of their lifestyle so that they can think of you every time they use it!

Buying gifts for a loved one should be fun, not stressful. Take some time to sit down, have a think, and figure out the perfect gifts for your BFF/SO/siblings this holiday season.

Jun6

Toledo Zoo Birthday Fun!

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Toledo Zoo Birthday Fun!

Heyy everyone and happy Saturday! And most importantly, happy one day until my 21st birthday!!! I had a beautiful day yesterday with my darling little BFF Lea at the Toledo Zoo for my birthday day trip celebration, so let me tell you all about it! WELL, we left Cuyahoga Falls yesterday around 9:30 and arrived at the zoo a little before twelve after an over two hour drive. We had to stop one time in Sandusky so I could go to the bathroom and we ran into quite a few characters before we even got to the zoo in the McDonald’s facilities…There was a lady with the longest pee Lea and I have ever heard that prevented both of us from going, which was AWFUL because I could barely walk from having to pee so bad. And then we can’t forget the girl who we ran into as we were washing our hands who was dressed up as a cat – face paint, tails, ears, the whole shebang. But hey, to each their own! After we relieved ourselves we made it to the zoo after another hour or so and unfortunately I had to pee AGAIN once we got there! This time it was even more urgent than the first which I didn’t even think was humanly possible! SO after another pee, we purchased our tickets from two evil, unhelpful, rude, rude, rude ladies and entered the Toledo Zoo! We explored the first half of the zoo which had elephants, penguins, primates, alligators, crocodiles, birds, reptiles, bears, tigers, and a gorgeous brand new aquarium. Unfortunately after we finished up at the elephant exhibit at the very end of the first half of the Toledo Zoo it began to rain really hard. But luckily, I packed my emergency beanie (the “E-Beanie”) to protect my red locks from the rain and Lea and I found shelter under the roof of a building. After surviving the downpour in Naked & Afraid: Toledo Zoo Edition, the sun came out and we were ready for some snacks and to get to the next half of the zoo that we still had to explore. We got some super delicious French fries that we finished before we even paid for them (whoops!) and of course some Dippin’ Dots because it’s our zoo tradition! YUM! We didn’t have much time to explore the second half of the zoo because we were unaware that they closed at four on weekdays rather than five – actually we didn’t find this out until about ten minutes before they closed because I consulted the map for some reason or another. As luck would have it though, the second half of the zoo was smaller than the first half so despite the speedy walk through of it we still got to see almost everything – rhinos, wolves, hippos, polar bears, sea lions, eagles, and a bunch of African Savannah animals including our all time favorite, GIRAFFES! They were so glorious!!!! We finished our zoo adventure by watching the majestic giraffes walk around their vast Savannah-esque habitat which was shared with other species of animals like ostriches, gazelles, antelopes, and more. It was a completely perfect day! Here’s a few of the pictures that I took during our Toledo Zoo visit:

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^^^ WTF is that fish? Hahaha! I’m so sad that I can’t upload videos on here because I have the cutest video of my favorite part of exploring the zoo…While watching the sweet gorillas in their exhibit with another family the gorgeous creatures were just kind of hanging out and lounging and eventually the family by us left. As soon as this family made their exit one of the gorillas decided to show off for me and Lea by rolling up and down the hill like a little kid. He went back and forth again and again until he tired himself out and it was seriously the most precious thing ever! He could probably sense that it was a special day for Lea and I and wanted to give us a little pre-birthday performance!

Yesterday was such a blast and I seriously had the best time with my darling Lea! We had so much fun during everything – the car rides, the zoo, the stormy weather (Lea and I are great at making not so good stuff enjoyable – one of the many reasons why I love our friendship!), and of course the Dippin’ Dots! What a fabulous birthday day trip extravaganza! Tonight I’ll be going out to dinner and the bars with my friends so you probably won’t hear from me tomorrow on my birthday due to a very probable hangover. SO that means I’ll be officially twenty-one the next time you talk to me on the usual Monday Update segment! AHHHH! I hope all of you are having a terrific day so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: ONE DAY LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G45iSmup6rs

^^^ Lololol this classic one hit wonder was our driving theme song yesterday! #love