Valentine's Day

For Valentine’s Day this year, we thought it would be a great day to take Luke to the Detroit Zoo. They are open year round, although they have slightly less exhibits in the winter. It was a perfect day out, brisk but not too cold, and so we decided to go for it. I’d never been to the zoo in the winter before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It ended up being so much fun! First, since neither Dave or I (or Luke for that matter) like crowds, this was just our speed. There weren’t very many other people there, so it almost felt like we had the whole zoo to ourselves, and in most of the exhibits, we were the only people there! Also, lots of the exhibits they have are indoors, so although you walk from exhibit to exhibit, you get a great chance to warm up in the exhibits. They have indoor exhibits for penguins, reptiles, amphibians, giraffes, polar bears, great apes, otters, butterflies and birds, plus lots of great outdoor space too.

The best part by far for us was a chance to see the polar bears really active. I’ve been to that exhibit before, but never seen the polar bears do very much. This was really the first time that I’d seen the bears wrestling around, jumping into the water, and moving really fast. We stayed underneath them for some time watching the bears wrestle around. It was a little intimidating seeing them wrestle each other right above you, and after a while, Luke said “I don’t like it.” Dave showed him that there was a wall between us, and we convinced him that it was ok, but it was amazing to see. We also got to get up really close with the giraffes and that was great too. I’ve never been that close to giraffes, and I couldn’t believe how tall they are! I realize that sounds silly, but really, they are unbelievably tall! Our last stop before we left was the aviary and butterfly house, and this was a big hit. Luke just ran around pointing out butterflies saying “Another one…another one…” All in all, it was a great Valentine’s activity, and one I would definitely do again (if I can convince Dave that it is a tradition).

Here's our photos and videos from the trip: