My sister and her husband live minutes away from this zoo, so it was a special treat to stay with them and go to the zoo together. Our two favorite experiences—seeing five lion cubs that were just four months old and feeding lettuce to the giraffes. The lions had two different mamas—one was an only child, the others were a litter of four born via c-section. The giraffes were hungry, and we loved feeding them. Hand-feeding a giraffe never, ever gets old. We touched a Galapagos tortoise—his shell, his feet, his toenails. The hippo exhibit was boarded up, and we found out later he had died. It was a gorgeous, cool day and oodles of fun.

View photos of our trip to this zoo