Michiganders know that even though the official start date of spring is in March, April can be a moody friend that surprises us with sunshine and warmer temperatures one day, and snow or rain the next.
After months of cabin fever, I couldn’t wait to get outside over the Easter weekend this year. I love to go on long walks in the neighborhood, the forest or exploring one of Michigan’s great Metro or State Parks. This April, I added another great place to that list: the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak. I used to go to the zoo mainly in the summer months, but found out that visiting the urban animal kingdom during a sunny winter or spring day can be as rewarding and fun. When there is snow on the ground, the walkways at the zoo are plowed and perfectly prepared for a walk. On Easter Monday, a visit to the Zoo was a great idea to get the kids outside and watch the animals that appeared as excited about the spring day as us humans.
For the first time ever, I stopped at the giraffe house and was in awe when I saw the baby giraffe. “Baby” is a bit misleading, since the six-months-old giraffe is already pretty big! One of my favorite stops is the polar bear habitat. The female was asleep in the grass, but her male buddy appeared rather active and we could would him swim from the famous blue tunnel. Most other animals could be observed outside or inside, it felt great to take advantage of a nice spring day, and the kids had fun exploring.
The Detroit Zoo is currently open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more info visit www.detroitzoo.org.