Category Archives: Florida

Florida, Military Life, Road Trips, Washington

Roadtrip from Jacksonville Fl to Seattle WA

September 2, 2016 Laura Oksendahl Leave a comment

We left Florida on July 30 and drove to Leif’s mom’s house in Aiken South Carolina where we spent a long weekend catching up and being tourists in downtown Aiken. Her boyfriend Philip from France cooked us a beautiful Paella dish that we washed down with some yummy wine. We toured the Aiken County Historical Museum where the kids were fascinated by ‘old time’ items like cash registers and horse drawn fire engines.

We left South Carolina and drove through Georgia and onto Mobile Alabama where we visited the Gulf Coast Exploreum for a few hours so the kids could get their wiggles out before heading to our friends for the night. Got up early the next morning and drove through Mississippi into New Orleans Louisiana where we spent the day discovering all that New Orleans had to offer. We ate Beignets at Café Du Monde near Jackson Square. We walked down Bourbon Street in the daytime we took a trolley ride all around the town and visited the New Orleans Museum of Art. We met up with some friends for dinner that we hadn’t seen in five years! We got an early start the next morning and checked out the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. There was an exhibition on graffiti art which the children found fascinating. We met up with some more friends, who had just relocated from Jacksonville, for some ice cream at the Creole Creamery.

We headed towards Texarkana which is on the border of Texas and Arkansas. We had arranged for a behind the scenes tour of an elephant refuge as a surprise for Ella. She was able to give Dore the elephant a bath and we were all able to feed her and pet her. It truly was one of my most favorite experiences to date.

Close by was the town of Paris Texas where they had a 3 story high Eiffel Tower that Ella was able to climb up on. Now she is more than convinced to travel to Paris France to climb the real thing.

Next up on our adventure was a drive to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We stayed at a hotel that overlooks the ballpark and there just so happen to be a ball game which we were able to watch. We stayed in Oklahoma for two nights in the part of town called Bricktown. We were able to take a water taxi to a beautiful monument call the Centennial Land Run Monument. It is 47 larger than life cast bronze statues depicting Oklahoma land run participants in 1889. It was a stunning piece. The next day we visited the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum which was the memorial for the Oklahoma bombing, it too was a beautiful memorial. We also wondered around the Myriad Botanical Gardens before driving along the iconic route 66.

We stopped off at the Cadillac Ranch where there are 10 Cadillacs 1/2 buried in the ground and you can spray paint them with spray paint. The kids had so much fun graffitting the Cadillacs. We also stopped off at a restaurant called The Big Texan where they serve 72-ounce steaks! Don’t worry we didn’t order one.

We got to the midpoint on route 66 which is 1139 miles in either direction to Los Angeles or to Chicago. The journey continues through Albuquerque New Mexico into Arizona where we visited the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.

We stayed the night just south of the Grand Canyon so we got up bright and early the next morning and headed into a day of exploring in the Grand Canyon – what an amazing amazing place, we all loved it.

The next morning we drove to a place called Four Corners. This is where four states meet, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. I sat right in the middle which meant I was in four places at once! It’s my superpower! Then each of the three kids stood in one state and I stood in the other so all four of us were in four different states holding hands at the same time!

The next day we backtracked and headed towards Denver Colorado to spend some time with Leif’s dad and his wife. We were able to catch up on laundry and eat some home-cooked meals and just enjoy each other’s company. We did make a trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Next, we drove to Billings Montana through Wyoming and spent a week with Leif’s grandma. We were able to visit with Leif’s Grandpa, uncles, aunts and cousins. His uncle even brought us on his boat to his cabin on the lake that had no electricity for a night – it was bliss! We went to the Montana State Fair and spent a few hours riding carnival rides and eating carnival food it was a fun day out.

Next up on our month-long journey across America was a drive on Beartooth Pass with a summit elevation of over 10,000 feet. It was now the middle of August but we could see snow a little off the road but we couldn’t get to it, unfortunately.

We continued on our journey to Yellowstone National Park where we had to give the right-of-way to Buffalo that passed in front of our car and then a few miles later a huge male Elk crossed right in front of us too. We hiked around the park and saw different hot springs, gushing geysers, including its most famous Old Faithful. The diversity of the landscape is simply awesome. We were able to swim in the Yellowstone River right where the boiling water’s from the hot springs enter so it was a natural Jacuzzi and it was really enjoyable.

That night we stayed in a Teepee Tent right outside the park. It had no electricity and it was one of the coldest nights but we all had down comforters and slept well! The next morning we went white water rafting on the Gallatin River and that was another one of our favorite experiences of the summer. We all slept so well again that night.

The next morning we got up and headed towards Coeur D’Alene Idaho and stayed with Leif’s cousin who showed us around and took us out on his boat on the lake for a few hours. It was our last night before heading to Seattle Washington so we went out for the biggest ice-cream dessert I have ever had!!

We arrived into Seattle and stayed at a hotel for a night and then all our household goods were delivered to our new house. So the unpacking and settling in to our new home in the Pacific North West begins…………..

Busch Gardens Florida, Day Trips, Florida

Quick Weekend in Tampa Bay Area Florida

December 28, 2015 Laura Oksendahl Leave a comment

Our 3 day weekend get away to the Tampa area began with a two hour trip from Jacksonville to Gainesville with a pit stop at Devil’s Millhopper. Devil’s Millhopper is a sinkhole that you are able to walk around the upper perimeter and then climb down the 214 steps to the bottom! The kids enjoyed it and they got some wiggles out before we ate our picnic lunch and set out on the drive to Crystal River.

We checked into our hotel and the kids went for a swim in the pool before we decided to go grab a bite to eat. We looked for a good spot and stumbled upon Charlie’s Fish House Restaurant and Seafood Market. The food was mediocre and the service was slow but the view over the bay at sunset was breathtaking.

We headed back to the hotel and got an early night sleep as we were to be up bright and early to be at the dock at 8.15am for our Crystal River Manatee Tour and Dive.

Day 2

I had purchased our tickets via Groupon and got a great rate for the 5 of us to snorkel with the Manatees. Unfortunately we were not able to redeem them before the promo expired but we were able to use them towards a regular price tour. I’m not sure it was worth the full price but it is definitely worth getting the groupon deal.

We all got wet suits, snorkles and went out on the boat looking for Manatees in Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. There is no communication between the other boat captains as to where the manatees are located which I found annoying but understandable! We eventually came upon a mama and her baby. We all got in the water with pool noodles to help us float and not kick up the sandy bottom obscuring our view. We were all able to see them and our guide took some amazing pictures. My kids were done after 10 minutes and wanted out of the water and back on the boat. I could have stayed watching them for hours!

Once back on dry land we got changed and had snack and headed towards Clearwater Marine Aquarium, about 2 hours away.

We got there a little after lunch. Clearwater Marine Aquarium is free for military and their dependents so we just had to check it out. We had watched Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2 and were excited to finally meet Winter and Hope, the stars of the movies.

This aquarium is a working rescue, rehabilitation and education center and visitors get to experience all of these things as you wander around the facility. We were able to see turtles who were missing flippers swim happily amongst their other rescued buddies. Winter and Hope were there too, Winter without his prosthetic tale. We were able to hold one of his tales and see exactly how ingenious the design was.

The Aquarium is split up into two facilities so we took a complimentary Jolley Trolley ride to the “Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure”. As you can imagine this facility is dedicated to the movies with props on display and different sets recreated. We didn’t spend too long here and headed back to the aquarium via their boat shuttle. It was a beautiful boat ride back right before sunset. We decided to head towards Tampa – where we were staying that night – and go to dinner close to the hotel by Busch Gardens. We ate a Zeko’s, a Mediterranean Restaurant, with killer Gyros!!

Day 2

BUSCH GARDENS!

Busch Gardens is free for Military and up to 3 dependants once per calendar year through the Wave of Honor program. We hadn’t been there yet this year so we just couldn’t let that opportunity go to waste. I purchased our All Day Dining Deal online and had our park tickets printed out, we only needed to purchase Ella’s ticket at the window. We go up to the window with all our paperwork to get our passes and our wristbands and the very awesome sales rep didn’t charge us anything for Ella! He gave her her pass for the day and set skipped off towards the front gate. Best surprise ever.

We had been told that there are allowances for children with disabilities. Even though I don’t see Kian’s ADHD as a disability but more of a superpower, we were able to get him a time stamp card that allowed him to not have to wait in line at the rides but to come back after a certain time and he would be able to go straight to the front of the line. This truly made for the most enjoyable experience for all 5 of us as we were all able to stay together and utilize it. We ate our way around the park, enjoyed almost all the rides and stayed until the very end of the day.

We rode the Skyride numerous times to quicken our way to the other end of the park. The Serengeti Railway ride is a great relaxing way to see all the animals in their ‘zoo’. The thrill seekers loved Cheetah Hunt, SheiKra and Kumba, whereas the Treetop Trails, Sand Serpent and Jungle Flyers were more mine and Ella’s pace! The dining deal was well worth it for the 5 of us to eat 3 meals and snacks throughout the day. We got water whenever we wanted so we didn’t have to carry bottles around with us. We visited Crown Colony Cafe for lunch, Dragon Fire Grill for snacks & Zambia Smokehouse for dinner. We left the park full of food and memories of another great day spent relaxing with moments of heart racing excitement mixed in. Hopefully we will be back before we leave for our next move to Seattle.

Florida, Military Life, Road Trips, Utah

Florida to Utah Road Trip

August 14, 2015 Laura Oksendahl Leave a comment

A day in Atlanta Georgia
Our first stop on our cross country trip was Atlanta Georgia. We decided to stay at the Embassy Suites as it was located within walking distance of the 2 things we wanted to see – The World of Coca Cola and Centennial Olympic Park.
The World of Coca Cola is a great place to wander around and learn all there is to know about my favorite drink! There is lots of interactive games for the kids to play on like designing their own bottle. They could also meet the Polar Bear Mascot. We got to check out the famous ‘Vault’ where the secret recipe is kept. The Kids’ most favorite part was the tasting room where they could drink all the different drinks made by Coca Cola from all over the world…..there are over 100!!!

A nice treat was that everyone got their own free souvenir bottle of coke as we left.

Next stop was Centennial Olympic Park – this is a large park in the middle of the city for the kids to run around and explore. There are different water feature that the kids climbed on (not allowed apparently!) There is a fun playground for them to get their wiggles out! And they got to play in the very cool Olympic Rings Water Fountain. We didn’t have any swim stuff with us but we were heading back to the hotel so we let them run crazy in their clothes!

A day in Nashville Tennessee

2nd stop was in Nashville Tennessee. We drove to the Grand Ole Opry and just wandered around – we choose not to take a tour as we didn’t think the kids would be into it! We did however visit The Opryland Hotel and WOW, what an awesome spot to spend a couple of hours. We wandered around their shopping area and bought some frozen yogurts, sat under waterfalls, meandered through their indoor gardens and watched koi fish play.

We drove to our hotel – The Hampton Inn in downtown Nashville. We again choose to stay downtown as we wanted to be able to walk to everything and not worry about parking! First order of business was to get the kids some cowboy / cowgirl boots! There are lots of stores but I had heard of a store where you buy 1 pair get 2 free – Yes you heard GET 2 FREE! And since we have 3 kids it was perfect!! Boot Country on Broadway was where we found the kids there cool boots!

They choose to wear them out of the store! Now that we had the boots we just had to go dancing so we headed to Wildhorse Saloon on 2nd Ave N where they teach FREE line dancing classes to whoever wants to be learn! We also had dinner there too and watched all the dancers from our table next to the dance floor.

They had a live band perform and my littlest dancer loved dancing to the music. We wandered all over town checking out lots of cool stores and listening to live music pour out of all the bars.

Side Note:
‘Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.’ http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums

One of the Museums on the list is the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum. We trekked up to it and walked around it – the kids were super bored as it was not very interesting for them so we made it a quick visit! We had seen the speeding golf cart taxis all over the city so we called for one to pick us up and bring us back to the hotel. The kids loved the ‘Joyride’ and it was FREE we just had to tip the driver!

2 days in St. Louis
3rd stop was a few days in St. Louis Missouri where we stayed with friends, who had literally just moved there a week earlier! Nothing says military families like inviting your family to stay at their house and them accepting the invite! They were just as excited about discovering the city as we were.
Our first day was spent at the St. Louis Zoo. The best part about this is that it is FREE! There are a whole bunch of different Museums on the site that are also free but we choose just to spend our time at the zoo. The zoo is huge with all the expected animals in exhibit. The highlight was the Polar Bear who was super excited to see Kian’s Cowboy hat and followed it while splashing in the water and giving high fives! The underwater tunnel in the sea lion enclosure was a reprieve from the heat. The penguin exhibit was a cool 45 degrees Fahrenheit!!! The Butterfly garden was a great way to get up close to the butterflies as they flittered by. This zoo is a must see while in St. Louis.

On our 2nd day we ventured to the world famous Arch.

We had booked tickets in advance as you can’t book them the day of your visit. The line to get in moved quickly through security. Kian 10 has always had a fear of heights but I think him being the oldest of the 6 kids he plucked up the courage to enter the carriage and it made its way up the inner column to the top. He didn’t like it for a second but he was a trooper! The rest of us enjoyed the views of the city from 630 feet up in the air! We didn’t spend much time in the visitor’s area as we had little kids with us and their mama was waiting on the ground outside!!!

Our next adventure was to the most amazing ‘museum’ I have ever been to – St Louis City Museum. It is not a museum as we know it, it is ‘an eclectic mixture of children’s playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects.’ We spent hours climbing through Monstrosity the outdoor 6 story maze of rebar tunnels and planes and slides! We ventured inside to the caves and climbed to the rooftop where there is a Ferris wheel and school bus overhanging the building! We made our way to the bottom by sliding down their 10 story slide! There were circus classes and art classes going on. It was every adventurous kid’s heaven and every claustrophobic parent’s nightmare but one not to be missed. A must visit while in St. Louis.

Drive by Kansas City

– We just made a quick pit stop at the Kansas City Library – the famous exterior of the car park is decorated like a book shelf. The Library is in an old bank and thus the Vault is put to good use downstairs! A fun stop for the kids to stretch their legs!

A weekend in Great Wolf Lodge Kansas City
We had heard of this themed hotel and decided to incorporate it into our trip. We checked in early and were able to go to the water park for the day. The kids loved the 3 indoor / outdoor waterslides, the lazy river and the bucket dropping 100’s of gallons of water every 10 minutes! We had a yummy pizza for dinner that we ate water side accompanied by some girly foo foo drinks. We choose to include the breakfast option the next morning and it was a nice addition to the stay. We headed back to the water park for another day of wet fun before loading back up and heading west. I’m glad we experience The Great Wolf lodge but it wasn’t worth the cost and we won’t be staying at one again.

A few days in Denver Colorado
Denver was a fun city for us to explore. We checked out Centennial Center Park where the kids climbed the rock wall and spider webs, swung on swings, dodged the water – they enjoyed getting their wiggles out.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science is part of the Blue Star Museum’s program so we decided to check it out. Trying to find parking in their parking garage was terrible, I resorted to stalking people exiting the elevator and following them to their parking spot! Once we got inside the museum we were surprised by how huge it was! We spent the whole afternoon exploring all the different exhibits. The kids loved The Power of Poison and Ronan was asked to help the science teacher in a science presentation. The Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, and Mermaids was a little weird but I guess that’s why they are so popular. The Prehistoric Journey was really interesting and the kids got to chat to and watch a paleontologist remove dirt from dinosaur bones! Expedition Health was an interactive exhibit where we had to take part in physical activity and it gathered all our stats. We were then able to see just how healthy or unhealthy we were. The Discovery Zone was hand down the most favorite area for all 3 kids. So much for them to get creative and discover through the art of play! Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a must see if you have a few hours to kill in Denver, we will be back as we were unable to see everything that they had to offer!

Park City Utah
The whole reason for our road trip was a Family Reunion in Park City Utah. We stayed at the Double Tree where the reunion was being held and had lots of fun with all our crazy relations. We swam in the pool, had a picnic in the park, had a big family dinner and a few too many drinks in the evenings!
We did go for a fun hike at The Alpine Slide Park close to the hotel and were able to see the beautiful vista over Park City.

The highlight of our vacation was The Olympic Park. It was where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held and it is an official Olympic Training Site.

We sat through a 2 hour Hotel Time Share presentation in exchange for 5 Gold Passes to the park – it was so worth it when the value of the tickets was $250!!! We watched athletes practice their jumps and landing in a huge pool – I never thought about them landing in a pool! We then headed down to the Discover Adventure Course where we climbed and shimmied our way to the end. And at the end we all had to Zipline back to the beginning. Such a fun activity for all ages.

Next up was the Alpine Slide. We had to take a very scenic chairlift ride to the top and we rode the Alpine Slide smoothly down, taking in the amazing views of Park City. The boys had a tough time on the slide and ended up slowing down too much, stopping and taking their sled off the track. Luckily Uncle H wasn’t far behind them and helped them back onto the track!

The adults were all able to ride The Extreme Zipline and it was pretty thrilling for a first time zipliner. Only Ronan wanted to do the Freestyle Zipline so the other headed back up to wander around the museum. We spent the whole afternoon at the park but it wasn’t enough time! You need the whole day if you want to take part in everything as the wait times are long and putting on the safety equipment at each activity takes time. All in all this was the most fun day of our trip!

Road trip home
We left Park City Utah and headed for Florida. We planned on driving 8 – 9 hours every day in order to make it home in 4 days. We stayed at hotels with pools and continental breakfasts and rented movies from Redbox and returned them the next day in the next state!! The only place we stopped worth mentioning was Metropolis – Home of Superman – we toured around the little Superman Museum, took pics with the 15 foot Bronze statue and had dippin dots in their visitors center!

We made the 4,772 mile round trip from Florida to Utah in 16 jam-packed fun filled days. Now I’m busy planning our next adventure!

Day Trips, Florida

Ichetucknee Springs – Florida

June 17, 2015 Laura Oksendahl 1 Comment

We headed 2 hours west of Jacksonville to Ichetucknee Springs for a fun day on the river. I had been told to rent our tubes from Lowe’s Tubeland http://www.lowes-tubeland.com/ just outside the park so that was our first stop. They have every kind of tube you could think of, all reasonably priced. We settled on a 3 person raft ($17) and a kiddie raft ($5). The boys each had their own from when we had stayed at Universal Studios and our hotel had a lazy river! To say the kids were excited to be going on a real life lazy was an understatement.
The employees of Tubeland safely secured the rafts to the top of our minivan and we were off.

Ichetucknee Springs is a beautiful State Park that offers camping, tubing, snorkeling, canoeing, swimming, hiking and much more outdoorsy fun. There is a fee to enter the park and as we were only going to be tubing on the river we were charged $20. ($5 per person over 5)
The 1st launch area for tubing is located at the North entrance. The tubers and their tubes are dropped off by the driver. You can’t take anything on the river only your swim stuff & reusable water container so pack very light. I packed my phone, camera & car keys in a ziplock bag within a water resistant bag of our swim gear – snorkels, goggles, flip flops. Sunscreen is not even allowed so make sure you apply lots – we applied sunscreen & bug spray at Lowe’s as the employees were manhandling the rafts onto the minivan!!
The driver then drives and parks at the Parking Lot located by the Midpoint & Dampier’s Landing. They then catch a shuttle up to The North Entrance and rejoin the group. It takes about 30 minutes for them to park and get a shuttle back.
While we were waiting we headed on a trail to Blue Hole and the kids were able to take a quick swim in the largest of seven springs at Ichetucknee Springs. It was a cool 72 degrees but the kids didn’t care!

When daddy arrived back we all headed to the launch ramp. We used the rope used to tie the rafts to the minivan to secure the kiddie raft to the adult raft. We also brought bungee cords but never needed to use them. The boys mostly floated independently down the river but we did tie one of their tubes to the raft when they wanted a break! We brought snorkel gear and they loved looking for fish and turtles all along the river.

About an hour and a half of floating you come upon Midpoint Tube Launch – you can’t get out here but tubers can enter the water from here if they are parked at the parking lot as it is within walking distance.
So we floated another 30 minutes and came to Dampier’s Landing where we got out of the water. We pulled all our tubes from the water and left them on the shore and headed to the parking lot where we had lunch. I prepacked a picnic lunch but they do have a concession stand where you can purchase food. We reapplied sunscreen and headed back to the river. (Midpoint & Dampier’s are both within walking distance of the parking lot)

After another hour float and a jump from an overhanging tree, we reached the end of the floating part of the river and were guided to the Tube Take-Out Point. We were able to drop off our rented tubes at a designate drop off point and headed to the shuttle which brought us back to the parking lot. We weren’t ready to leave the beautiful surroundings just yet so we drove back up to the North Entrance and headed to Ichetucknee Head Spring which we saw as we headed to the tube launch earlier in the day. This was a beautiful spring with steps down into the frigid water. The kids again went for a swim and snorkel but only lasted about 15 minutes before they were done!

We changed into our clothes at the restroom there and set out for home all full to the brim of memories of an amazingly fun, unplugged from electronics, day in nature. We can’t wait to go back.

Day Trips, Florida

Devil’s Den – Florida

April 22, 2015 Laura Oksendahl 1 Comment

We snuck away for a date day to the Devil’s Den near Williston FL. We dropped the kids to school and then headed 2 hours outside Jacksonville to this little hidden gem.

Devil’s Den is an underground cavern where you can snorkel and scuba dive to your hearts content. For the unbelievable price of $10 you get access to the cavern, the picnic facilities, showers and small heated pool.
You descend down stairs into the underground abyss. You can only bring your snorkel, mask, fins & a camera down with you. Everything else must remain above ground. We were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves and spent an hour snorkel amongst the fish and turtles.

They have everything available to rent for really reasonable prices – fins, snorkel, masks and wet-suits but we borrowed some from friends. I would recommend a wet suit as the water is chilly 72 degrees year round. For some that is perfect temperature but for me, I’m a weenie and it was cold!
There is no swimming allowed down there only Snorkeling & diving. So I would not bring my kids until they are old enough to proficiently snorkel.

I believe they have dive equipment for rent too but we were not going to be doing that and we just about can manage the snorkel masks! It is a destination for a lot of divers getting their diving qualifications and what an amazing place to do it.
This off the beaten path, little hidden treasure, is a must see for everyone in Northern Florida. Pete the Dive Master says their Motto is “Don’t Tell Your Friends!” as they want to keep it as a mom and pop recreational oasis free from corporate influence.

We sadly had to leave and return to reality but not before stopping for lunch at The Ivy House Restaurant in Williston for a delicious seafood platter & a loaded ground steak burger. Both were really really good. We just had to have dessert once we heard the list of options. Leif had a buttercream walnut pie and I had a chocolate mousse with a pecan crust. DELISH!! Needless to say we didn’t even need to eat dinner!!

The view looking down from above!

The view looking up from below!

Florida, Jacksonville

Jacksonville Zoo – Florida

April 8, 2015 Laura Oksendahl Leave a comment

I accompanied Ella on her Kindergarten Field Trip to the Jacksonville Zoo. With 85 degree temps it was bound to be a great day out.

Ticket prices vary depending on what you want to do and Ella and my ‘field trip’ ticket included the Train ride, Stingrays and Carousel ride which are extra after the price of admission.
We jumped on the train and it choo chooed us around the perimeter of the back side of the exhibits. It is a disappointing ride so I would skip it and get a better view of the animals from the main pathways!
Next we entered the Stingray Exhibit where the kids can touch the stingrays and feed them. Hand feeding them freaked us out so we just threw the food in there and watched them fight for it! Definately worth the $1
Next we walked the Plains of East Africa and into the Reptile Building – this area is a great walk for the kids to see all the animals. Then it was onto the Lions who were all sleeping in the midday sun. Our most favorite thing to do at the zoo is to feed the Giraffes and today didn’t disappoint. For just $2 you get 3 pieces of food to give to the Giraffes. So much fun and it is a must do at the Jax Zoo.

We stopped to get a snow cone at one of the vendors carts and then some ice cream to help cool us down….any excuse for ice cream really.
We crossed over to take a ride on the Carousel & then into the Play Park where a Garter Snake slithered across the path! Super fun for the kids to see a native snake up close and personal! The Play Park is a cool climbing structure with nests, nets and concrete slides! We couldn’t leave this area without seeing the Tuxedo Coast Penguins from underneath their exhibit. The kids then checked out the Titanoboa which was a little disappointing but the fake snakes were really cool!

Then we petted and brushed some of the Pygmy Goats.
One of the new additions to the zoo is the Sea Lion Splash ($5) This is a cute show with the Sealions doing tricks and silliness to entertain us. We choose to stick around afterwards to meet one of the Sealions and get Ella’s picture taken with her! ($10)

We didn’t get a chance to go to Asia this time but this part of the zoo is a must see with the new Land of the Tiger exhibit.

We slowly made our way back to the Exit through the Great Apes and Wild Florida pathways.

All in All the Jacksonville Zoo is a MUST See but be prepared to spend more money on all the feedings and interactions that are not included in the admission price. Snacks, drinks and lunches can all be brought into the zoo and there are plenty of areas throughout where you can stop to take a break in the shade.

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