When Anthony and I were in college, we never went for a big blow-out trip for any of the spring breaks. Financially, it wasn’t happening (we were two broke college students, okay?), so we made the best with the time we did have to spend away from the books and lectures. Cincinnati, which is only about two hours away from Indianapolis, was a tangible, affordable, fun getaway destination for us two years in a row. We like to adventure with open minds, but we did have our sights set on visiting the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden both times.
Established in 1875, this zoo is the fifth oldest in the United States. Both zoo and botanical garden fill up 70+ acres in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, and those 70+ acres are home to about 2,000 animals of over 500 different species. In 2019, USA Today named the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden the #1 zoo in the country. Now that is exciting!
An obvious fan favorite of the zoo happens to be mine, too: Fiona the Hippo. Ms. Fiona was born January 24th, 2017, making her my fellow Aquarius. She was born six weeks prematurely, and only weighed 29 pounds. With the care and nurture given by the staff and her mother Bibi, Fiona is sitting pretty and thicc at over 1,300 pounds. I’ve been lucky enough to see her both years Anthony and I visited. She seems to love the attention, but also knows how to swim away when the paparazzi gets to be too tiring.
An obvious fan favorite of the zoo happens to be mine, too: Fiona the Hippo. Ms. Fiona was born January 24th, 2017, making her my fellow Aquarius. She was born six weeks prematurely, and only weighed 29 pounds. With the care and nurture given by the staff and her mother Bibi, Fiona is sitting pretty and thicc at over 1,300 pounds. I’ve been lucky enough to see her both years Anthony and I visited. She seems to love the attention, but also knows how to swim away when the paparazzi gets to be too tiring.
The zoo has a lot to offer, including up-close animal encounters. The second spring break trip, we snagged a couple seats at the cheetah encounter. Along with information on the species and the specific cats living in the zoo, the audience was able to watch a cheetah reach full speed just feet away from them. Okay, we all know some of these encounters and shows can be a little more on the lame side, but this stuff was awesome. And I enjoyed laughing at the children that willingly volunteered themselves to race the cheetahs, but hey, at least they had the confidence.
Although their website has no tickets or events listed until things level out, they are offering a variety of ways to stay connected and up-to-date with the inhabitants of the zoo. Zoo Babies, usually an in-person experience, has now been moved online, where admirers of all things small and cute can browse the photo album of all the new additions. The social media platforms, specifically Instagram, update followers with fun pictures, videos, and behind-the-scene moments captured daily while the stay-at-home order is if effect. Events later in the year, like Breakfast with the Animals (July 1st -September 21st) and Zoo Brew (October 15th), are still scheduled and have tickets available for purchase. Adult tickets are $21 and parking is $10, which makes it a very affordable day trip!
I can’t wait to go back to this zoo when everything is up and running again. Kids, adults, and everyone in between can have a great time here. And obviously, the Zoo Brew event definitely caught my eye while I was writing this blog, so many I’ll see you there this October. Stay safe, stay happy, look at all the cute baby animals, and go #teamfiona.