Maine Attractions

Last week we decided to pack up the kids for a little outing to the zoo. We had two choices- the Stoneham Zoo in southern Massachusetts or the York Zoo in Maine. The Stoneham Zoo would require a 1 1/2 hour drive on 495 through Mass, trying to avoid rush hour in Boston, heat, and much bigger crowds for a much bigger zoo. The York Zoo meant a 1 hour drive to the coast, no traffic concerns, the possibility of an ocean breeze, and much smaller crowds. Another bonus was that we would drive through Kittery, Maine. I'll explain why that is so awesome later. The choice was easy. We packed up and headed to Maine.
I am happy to report that the zoo did not disappoint. I knew it was small, but it had all of the cool animals- lions, tigers, bears, alligators, elephants, lots of monkeys, zebras...you name it, they had it. We fed the goats and baby deer, visited the butterfly house, and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. Christian loved looking at the animals and baby Ashley was content in her stroller. The weather was beautiful, the crowds were small, and the food reasonably priced. We will definitely return! My only regret is that I didn't ask the zoo keepers what happens to the animals in the winter. I'm pretty sure that African elephants are not used to 10 feet of snow.

Here we are feeding the goats


Christian was brave at first, then decided that Mommy should feed the goats instead. Same went for the baby deer.

Lions

Alligators

Checking out the kangaroos

Ry and Christian in front of the white tiger

Butterfly house


The day's adventure did not end at the zoo. We stopped at Kittery Trading Post on the way home. It is the largest sporting goods store in New England. It is Mecca to Ryan. They have anything that an outdoors man/survivalist could ever dream of. It also has an awesome fudge stand.

Christian and Ashley checking out the stuffed moose
Funny thing is that there wasn't a moose at the zoo, and they are native to New Hampshire. This picture was taken just before Christian took a header into the moose pit. He was ok after a little bite of rocky road fudge.
This was the result of the day's events. We had two very tired tots. Both Christian and Ashley were very good kids considering all of the exciting things they got to see that day.