Toronto Zoo

Tronster and the love of his life, Sunshine, always enjoy animals.  In September of 2016, we made a special trip to Toronto to visit some friends.  Also none as “distant cousins”.  Regardless, while we were in town, we grabbed a “City Pass”  which included a trip to the local zoo.

Toronto is about an 8 hour drive for my family.  Mainly because I obey speed limits.  Some have made the trip faster, however, I prefer to stay away from traffic court in other states. The zoo is about 700 acres of animals and exhibits for people to visit.  Sunshine and I always enjoy the Pandas.  They play around in their habitat and always look happy.  The part that makes me happy, is the smile on Sunshine’s face when she sees the enchanted animals. 

In 2012, on a trade mission to China, it was announced that the Toronto Zoo and the Calgary Zoo would be lent two giant pandas from China for the span of ten years, with the pandas splitting the time equally between the two facilities. The pandas, named Er Shun and Da Mao, arrived at the Toronto Zoo on Monday, March 25, 2013, greeted by prime minister Stephen Harper. Their exhibit opened on May 18, 2013. The pandas originated from the Chongqing Zoo and Chengdu Panda Base, resided in Toronto from 2013 to spring of 2018; moved thence to the Calgary Zoo for 2018 through 2022. In October 2013, Er Shun gave birth to twin cubs. The exhibit closed on March 18, 2018.

The Smithsonian Zoo, or National Zoo, also had an exhibit of Pandas.  A cub was born here not too long ago. I could look that up for you, but, you are already on the Internet. 

During this time, when social distancing and travel restrictions are in place, I figured I would share a few of my adventures in the past.  

"V" - Vacation

While I was growing up, we never took real vacations.  We would go and visit my grandparents and one time, my grandparents took my Disney as a kid.  However, we never went far from home.  When I started working, I never really took vacations other than to visit family.  Because that is what I know from growing up.  However, once I met Sunshine, all that changes.  We have taken a major vacation every year since we were married. (Once before)  Now we look for opportunities for vacations.

So I wanted to share a few idea with you all for vacation suggestions.

Disney is always fun, for kids of all ages.  It is important to realize, that the Disney corporations is proud of everything they offer.  However, the customer service is excellant.  They will take care of you.  They also offer many options.  Shop around.

Plan a weekend away from home, and drive a couple hours and get a hotel room.  Call it a Road Trip Weekend.  We like will drive about 5 hours to hit a weekend trip.  Three day weekends are easy for time off from a government job, but usually the tourist sites are also busy.  So take a Monday some time and extend a weekend.

So let me tell you some of our weekend trips.  Niagara Falls, Toronto (NHL Hall of Fame), Baltimore for a baseball game and a tour of the old city.  If you are in the Midwest, there are a huge amount of national parks and state parks to visit.  Mount Rushmore was one of my favorite stops, so was the Bison sighting.

If you are close to a beach, an early or late season trip to the beach could be just the thing for a vacation.

The Challenge is moving forward and we are almost to the finish line.