Backyard Adventures: The LA Zoo

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Ready for a wild adventures at the LA Z00

With mini-man getting bigger and more independent, I’ve been trying to find some fun, yet cost effective, activities for us to do together. One activity that we both enjoy is visiting the LA Zoo.

Located in Griffith Park, and just minutes from our apartment, the LA Zoo is an ideal place to take mini-man for some new adventures.

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I bought an annual pass for $79 – which gets me and one guest into the zoo. Since mini-man is free (under 2 can visit free) this pass is ideal for our little family.  Just use it four time and then pass pays for itself.

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Another benefit of an annual pass – we can come and go as we please. If we arrive and it’s too crowded, too hot, mini-man isn’t in the mood, or any reason, we can just leave. This happened one, hot day when mini-man kept wanting to get into the water. Instead of making him stay, we went home and jumped in the pool. Both parties are happy – i didn’t have to drag a cranky toddler around the zoo and he got to do what he wanted.

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Right now, mini-man loves to explore the zoo. So each time we visit, I take him in a different direction to see new animals. The only issue we have at the moment is he wants to touch all of the animals. Thankfully he is easily distracted.

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So if your looking for a cost effective activity for your family in LA, I highly recommend the LA Zoo.

Preparations: Learning to Swim

A big part of sailing takes place on the water (I know – DUH! – right!?!). So part of preparing for our big adventure is seeing if mini-man likes the water. If he didn’t, it could derail our plans to sail around the world.

I grew up  in San Diego and have always loved being in the water. Hoping that mini-man inherited my love of the water, we took him to the pool.

Colby First Swim

I wasn’t too optimistic, he is only three months after all. At most, I had hoped to get his feet in the water. I was nervous with him being so young that he might not  do well or that he may need lessons in order to be in the water.  What happened blew me away.

Over the next hour, mini-man went from having his feet in the water to full on swimming. At one point, we put him in his life preserver to see if it would help him, but it only held him back. As you can see in the video, he had the time of his life and the only thing holding him back was us (I’m not quite ready to let him put his head under the water). He played for hours in the water and by the time we got home he was worn out.

We have since moved his bath into the tub with one of us so he can kick and swim to his hearts delight (and bonus – it tires him out very fast!).

I am beyond thrilled that mini-man loves to be in the water. This puts us one step closer to our sailing dreams.