Vacations Blog

Sculpture of Roman Goddess Diana surrounded by a pond

Revel in nature’s fall colors at Brookgreen Gardens Harvest Home Festival on October 24-25.  Enter the scarecrow building contest, try pumpkin painting or opt for hay rides, basket-weaving and pottery demonstrations while listening to live bluegrass music. With the lush Brookgreen Gardens as the setting, your fall vacation will be filled with beauty.  Covered with palmetto trees, hydrangeas and expansive lawns, Brookgreen Gardens resembles a swampy Garden of Eden.

Nestled between Myrtle Beach and Pawley’s Island, the 9,200-acre outdoor museum and National Historic Landmark boasts sculptures, gardens, fountains, marshes, swamps, an aviary and a zoo.  This place is so massive that admission tickets are good for seven consecutive days. I recommend devoting a day to the Harvest Home Festivalactivities and another for the sculpture garden and lowcountry zoo. Read More »

I hate zoos.

I blame it on the fact that my mother adores the cheap entertainment that staring at animals provides and insisted on spending most of my childhood wandering from one animal exhibit to another.  You can only watch monkeys eat bugs off one another so many times before you start to become apathetic towards the miracles of the Animal Kingdom.

But even I, along with my two kids, enjoy the heck out of The Central Florida Zoo.

This is what "enjoying the heck out of the zoo" looks like.

Although I’m certain the Brevard Zoo would argue that they have equal claim to the name, The official Central Florida Zoo is located in Sanford, Florida.  As Google Maps will tell you, it’s located on Highway 17/92 – but the entrance is easy to miss with the small sign and massive overgrowth of roadside vegetation in the area.

The zoo is small.  It doesn’t begin to compare to a larger attraction like the San Diego Zoo.  And maybe that’s why my family enjoys it so much.

You may only spend a couple of hours walking along the clearly marked paths, or your kids could spend the entire day participating in hands on demonstrations and petting live animals that the staff bring out.

Petting a very old turtle at the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford

The zoo is located in Florida, which means the ample shade, air conditioned buildings and water attraction for the kids are especially appreciated in the hot summer months.  (Yes, water attraction.  Let the little ones wear their suits to the zoo!)

Another added feature exclusive to Florida zoos is the massive alligator and crocodile exhibits.  Bring hot dogs!  The crocodile displays are equipped with tubes that you can send food shooting through so that you can watch the animals snap at the airborne meat.

The zoo is open year-round, seven days a week (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Admission is $10.95 for adults, $6.95 for kids over 2, and FREE for kids under 2.  Which means my family of four can enjoy the Florida weather for less than $30 – including the cups of Cocoa Puffs to feed the lamas in the petting zoo!

Feeding goats cocoa puffs in Sanford, FL

Photos by Britt Reints

Best way to beat the heat and grime of New York City is to head upstate. But not everyone is fortunate enough, or filthy rich, to be able to own a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. And New York hotels don’t come cheap either. So, for those of us stranded in the City, NYC offers a splendid collection of zoos, an aquarium and plenty of gardens.

Central Park Zoo & Tisch Children’s Zoo: The zoo recreates the natural habitats of over 130 species. Star attractions include Ida & Gus, the polar bears in the Polar Circle. Then there’s the Ice Pack building with penguins tottering about, the noisy and vibrant rainforest with all sorts of exotic specimens including tropical birds, snakes, frogs and lizards. If you’re there with your children, don’t forget to visit the Tisch Children’s Zoo. Details here.

New York Aquarium: New York City’s only aquarium, situated by the sea next to the Coney Island Amusement Park, boasts over 350 species of aquatic wildlife with over 8000 specimens. The latest addition, and a huge draw, is Baby Akituusaq aka Tuusaq, a roly-poly walrus calf born a year ago in June 2007.

Tuusaq, now weighing 400 pounds with tiny teeth just beginning to show, is a pampered brat, with everyone at the Aquarium, including his mother, Kulusiq aka Kulu, doting on him. His father, Ayveq, passed away a few weeks back, on June 22, 2008. More details about the New York Aquarium’s animals, hours and rates here.

Other zoos and wildlife parks include the Bronx Zoo, the Queens and Prospect Park Wildlife Centers. Major gardens include the Brooklyn and New York Botanical Gardens. Then there’s also the Staten Island Botanical Garden, which you can visit by taking a free ride on the Staten Island ferry, which would be a good idea for a summer afternoon anyway.

Photo by Stig Nygaard via flickr (creative commons).