This weekend I found myself on the way to Manitowoc! Because it was a long drive, I decided to take the fam along and add on a one-day vacation on Monday and experience the sights and sounds (and smells) of Manitowoc.
Luke was excited to get to go on a road trip with Daddy! Now, I realize some of you may be wondering, “Where in the world is Manitowoc?” Well, here is a hint:
We saw a lot of signs like this as we headed North, Wisconsin!
Luke was soooo excited, as you can see!
We were eager to find some fun things to do in the area, and our host gave us some tips. Manitowoc is a very nice area, there is a World War Two submarine that we’d like to see when Luke is a little older at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. There were beautiful parks and quaint little shops along the main street. (did I just say quaint?!)
But we were happy to find that Manitowoc has it’s own Lincoln Park with a free zoo!
Luke’s FIRST trip to the zoo!
Of course, I started by feeding him to a lion!
The highlight of the Lincoln Park Zoo, is the Prairie Dogs.
(The smell I referred to the beginning)
They seemed to be very serious little guys, standing at attention watching us watch them watching us watch them, etc.
I took way too many pictures of these, so I had to post at least three pictures of them. But they were pretty cute. And too numerous to count! I was impressed with the variety of animals they had in this rather small and free zoo, including two black bears, a cougar, and some timber wolves who paced hungrily when they saw Luke walking by himself! But my favorite was getting to see a bald eagle: (click for larger view)
I’m trying to remember if I had ever seen one of these up close before. The only thing that I think could improve the zoo would be if they put the prairie dogs and the bald eagle in the same cage! They could charge an admission fee if they did that!
Next it was off toward home, but not without a stop halfway at a mall, where we got to park for free because the meter was broken. I took this picture in case we came back to a ticket! Nope… saved a handful of quarters! Woo-hoooo!
The mall had one of those squirting fountains that we are seeing at more malls, where kids can walk right out on to it and get soaked! As you may know, Luke loves water, so after confirming with Mom that we had a change of clothes in the diaper bag, I let Luke wander in the water.. and he loved it!
Luke loved it, and yes, he got soaking wet… Dad managed to stay relatively dry while taking pictures, and even some video.
The only really sad moment in the day, was discovering that the Apple store was not yet open. And yes, I tried to peek through the cracks and get a look inside, but they had it taped off too well. Bummer!
Here is what an Apple Store apple logo looks like before its protective covering has been removed! I bet you didn’t know the store logo was 45 inches across? Well, thanks to my blog, you do now! That can be your next trivia question you ask some so-called Mac fan or genius at the Mac Genius Bar, “How many inches is it across the Apple logo on the front of the store, huh?!”
Well, time to bring this mini-vacation day to a close and go to bed. I’ll end with one more prairie dog picture for you… I know, I understand, you’re very welcome. Anytime.
ok, if you insist, one more:
Kinda makes you hungry, doesn’t it?
Good to see you and your family out on an adventure!!
Glad you had a good time.
I sure hope you saluted Mars Cheese Castle… It’s a longstanding Tanner tradition!
Nice pictures. Those furry little rodents are cute aren’t they? Thanks for the props on the burger, there’s more where that came from. Good luck on the iPhone. I’m looking forward to hearing about that adventure.